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Common Name Systematic Name Structural Formula Lipid Numbers Propionic acid: Propanoic acid CH 3 CH 2 COOH : C3:0 Butyric acid: Butanoic acid CH 3 (CH 2) 2 COOH : C4:0 Valeric acid
A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds between the carbon atoms. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched chain of carbon (C) atoms.
In biochemistry, lipogenesis is the conversion of fatty acids and glycerol into fats, or a metabolic process through which acetyl-CoA is converted to triglyceride for storage in fat. [1] Lipogenesis encompasses both fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis , with the latter being the process by which fatty acids are esterified to glycerol before ...
Fatty acids can only be broken down in mitochondria, by means of beta-oxidation followed by further combustion in the citric acid cycle to CO 2 and water. Cells in the central nervous system, although they possess mitochondria, cannot take free fatty acids up from the blood, as the blood–brain barrier is impervious to most free fatty acids ...
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.
A young adult human's fat stores average between about 15–20 kg (33–44 lb), but varies greatly depending on age, sex, and individual disposition. [10] In contrast, the human body stores only about 400 g (0.9 lb) of glycogen , of which 300 g (0.7 lb) is locked inside the skeletal muscles and is unavailable to the body as a whole.
Lipid metabolism is the synthesis and degradation of lipids in cells, involving the breakdown and storage of fats for energy and the synthesis of structural and functional lipids, such as those involved in the construction of cell membranes. In animals, these fats are obtained from food and are synthesized by the liver. [1]
The adipocyte, or fat cell, is designed for continuous synthesis and breakdown of triglycerides in animals, with breakdown controlled mainly by the activation of hormone-sensitive enzyme lipase. [65] Migratory birds that must fly long distances without eating use triglycerides to fuel their flights.