Fatty acids

Fatty acids are typically components of other classes of lipids particularly triglycerides, phospholipids and cholesteryl esters.

Fatty acids serve at least three vital function: a few, such as linoleic acid, are essential nutrients; others, particularly the short chain fatty acids, provide energy; long chain fatty acids are structural components of cell membranes.

Fatty acids are the main components in neutral fats (triglycerides) carried in blood stream.

Fatty acids seldom exits by themselves but are chemically incorporated into larger molecules such as triglycerides, the substance that everybody call fat.

Fatty acids come in many different shapes and sizes. They are the key building block of all fats and oils both of foods and human body.

The requirement of fatty acids can be met either by biosynthesis or by dietary supply. Because fatty acids are essential for the proper functioning of the living organism their synthesis and degradation must be precise regulated so as to respond to a various metabolic conditions.

In general the following outline of fatty acid composition can be given:

*Depot fats of higher land animals consist mainly of palmitic, oleic and stearic acid and are high in saturated fatty acids.

*Ruminant milk fats are characterized by a much greater variety of component fatty acids. The major fatty acids are palmitic, oleic and stearic.

*Marine oil also contain a wide variety of fatty acids. Several of these fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid and docosaheaenoic acid, have recently received a good deal of attention because of biomedical interest.

*Fruit coat fats contain mainly palmitic, oleic and sometime linoleic acids.

*Seedfats are characterized by low contents of saturated fatty acids. They are contain palmitic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids.

Fatty acid is acid organic acid – a chain of carbon atoms with hydrogens attached - that has an acid group (COOH) at one end and a methyl group (CH3) at the other end.

The fatty chain of the molecule is a water insoluble or hydrophobic, oil soluble, non-polar chain of a variable length.
Fatty acids