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Lipids (oleaginous) are chiefly fatty acid esters, and are the basic building blocks of biological membranes. Another biological role is energy storage (e.g., triglycerides). Most lipids consist of a polar or hydrophilic head (typically glycerol) and one to three non polar or hydrophobic fatty acid tails, and therefore they are amphiphilic.
Lipidology is the scientific study of lipids. Lipids are a group of biological macromolecules that have a multitude of functions in the body. [1] [2] [3] Clinical studies on lipid metabolism in the body have led to developments in therapeutic lipidology for disorders such as cardiovascular disease. [4]
The fatty acid structure is one of the most fundamental categories of biological lipids and is commonly used as a building-block of more structurally complex lipids. The carbon chain, typically between four and 24 carbons long, [ 23 ] may be saturated or unsaturated , and may be attached to functional groups containing oxygen , halogens ...
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) publishes many books which contain its complete list of definitions. The definitions are divided initially into seven IUPAC Colour Books: Gold, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, White, and Red. [1] There is also an eighth book, the "Silver Book".
Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers. The most common macromolecules in biochemistry are biopolymers ( nucleic acids , proteins , and carbohydrates ) and large non-polymeric molecules such as lipids , nanogels and macrocycles . [ 1 ]
Membrane lipids are a group of compounds (structurally similar to fats and oils) which form the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The three major classes of membrane lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and cholesterol. Lipids are amphiphilic: they have one end that is soluble in water ('polar') and an ending that is soluble in fat ...
Fatty acids are a major component of the lipids (up to 70% by weight) in some species such as microalgae [2] but in some other organisms are not found in their standalone form, but instead exist as three main classes of esters: triglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesteryl esters.
Neutral lipids are hydrolyzed by lipases shortly after death, to free the fatty acids from their glycerol backbone. This creates a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. [13] Under the right conditions (when sufficient water and bacterial enzymes are present), neutral lipids will be completely degraded until they are reduced to fatty ...