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The desirable (left) and undesirable pathways for partial hydrogenation of an unsaturated fat. Elaidic acid is a trans fat with negative health effects. Full hydrogenation results in the conversion of all of the unsaturated fats into saturated fats by transforming all of the double bonds in the fat into single bonds.
In cellular metabolism, unsaturated fat molecules contain less energy (i.e., fewer calories) than an equivalent amount of saturated fat. The greater the degree of unsaturation in a fatty acid (i.e., the more double bonds in the fatty acid) the more susceptible it becomes to lipid peroxidation ( rancidity ).
A significant proportion of the fatty acids in the body are obtained from the diet, in the form of triglycerides of either animal or plant origin. The fatty acids in the fats obtained from land animals tend to be saturated, whereas the fatty acids in the triglycerides of fish and plants are often polyunsaturated and therefore present as oils.
The double bonds of an unsaturated fatty acid can be cleaved by free-radical reactions involving molecular oxygen. This reaction causes the release of malodorous and highly volatile aldehydes and ketones. Because of the nature of free-radical reactions, the reaction is catalyzed by sunlight. [7] Oxidation primarily occurs with unsaturated fats.
More specifically, whether the fatty acids are saturated or unsaturated has an effect on membrane fluidity. Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain, and the maximum amount of hydrogen. The absence of double bonds decreases fluidity. Unsaturated fatty acids have at least one double bond, creating a "kink" in the chain.
This pathway utilizes desaturases to synthesize unsaturated fatty acids from full-length saturated fatty acid substrates. [17] All desaturases require oxygen and ultimately consume NADH even though desaturation is an oxidative process.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 15 February 2025. Esters of fatty acid or triglycerides This article is about the type of nutrient in food. For fat in animals, see Adipose tissue. For chemistry of fats, see triglyceride. For other uses, see Fat (disambiguation). Idealized representation of a molecule of a typical triglyceride, the main ...
This enzyme is responsible for the conversion of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids in the synthesis of vegetable oils. Cyanobacterial DesA, [19] an enzyme that can introduce a second cis double bond at the delta-12 position of fatty acid bound to membrane glycerolipids. This enzyme is involved in chilling tolerance; the phase ...