2.03:_Fats

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<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">Fat molecules are made up of four parts: a molecule of <strong>glycerol</strong> (on the right) and three molecules of <strong>fatty acids. </strong>Each fatty acid consists of a hydrocarbon chain with a carboxyl group at one end. The glycerol molecule has three hydroxyl groups, each able to interact with the carboxyl group of a fatty acid. Removal of a water molecule at each of the three positions forms a <strong>triglyceride</strong>. The three fatty acids in a single fat molecule may be all alike (as shown here for <strong>tristearin</strong>) or they may be different. They may contain as few as 4 carbon atoms or as many as 24.</p>

<figure><img class="internal" alt="Diagram of a triacylglycerol molecule structure labeled Triesterin, showing carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and double bonds, with lines connecting atoms in a vertical layout." loading="lazy" src="https://bio.libretexts.org/@api/deki/files/5130/Tristearin.gif?revision=1" /><figcaption>Figure 3.0.1: tristearin </figcaption></figure>

<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">Because fatty acids are synthesized from fragments containing two carbon atoms, the number of carbon atoms in the chain is almost always an even number. In animal fats, 16-carbon (palmitic acid) and 18-carbon (stearic acid - shown here) fatty acids are the most common.</p>

<span id="Unsaturated_Fats"></span><span id="Unsaturated_Fats"></span><h2 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3781">Unsaturated Fats</h2>

<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">Some fatty acids have one or more double bonds between their carbon atoms. They are called unsaturated because they could hold more hydrogen atoms than they do.<strong> Monounsaturated</strong> fats have a single double bond in their fatty acids and <strong>polyunsaturated</strong> fats, such as <strong>trilinolein</strong> shown here, have two or more.</p>

<figure><img class="internal" alt="Diagram of a trilinolein molecule with three rows of carbon and hydrogen chains. Red arrows indicate specific points along the chains, with Trilinolein labeled at the bottom." loading="lazy" src="https://bio.libretexts.org/@api/deki/files/5131/Trilinolein.gif?revision=1" /><figcaption>Figure 3.0.2: trilinolein</figcaption></figure>

<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">Double bonds are rigid and those in natural fats introduce a kink in the molecule. This prevents the fatty acids from packing close together and as a result, unsaturated fats have a lower melting point than do saturated fats. Because most of them are liquid at room temperature, we call them oils. Corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, and olive oil are common examples. As this list suggests, plant fats tend to be unsaturated (therefore &quot;oils&quot;). Fats from such animals as cattle tend to be saturated.</p>

<span id="Trans_Fatty_Acids"></span><span id="Trans_Fatty_Acids"></span><h2 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3781">Trans Fatty Acids</h2>

<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">The most abundant (and least expensive) source of fat is from plant oils but many cooking applications, particularly baked products, need solid fats. The food industry uses <strong>hydrogenated</strong> oils for things like <strong>shortening</strong> and <strong>margarine. </strong>In hydrogenation, plant oils are exposed to hydrogen at a high temperature and in the presence of a catalyst.</p>

<figure><img class="internal" alt="Diagram showing two chemical structures: left is cis with a single bond and aligned hydrogens; right is trans with a double bond and diagonal hydrogens." loading="lazy" src="https://bio.libretexts.org/@api/deki/files/5132/cis_trans.gif?revision=1" /><figcaption>Figure 3.0.3: Trans vs. Cis fatty acid</figcaption></figure>

<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">Two things result:(1) some double bonds are converted into single bonds and (2) other double bonds are converted from <strong>cis</strong> to <strong>trans</strong> configuration. Both these effects straighten out the molecules so they can lie closer together and become solid rather than liquid.</p>

<span id="Omega_fatty_acids"></span><span id="Omega_fatty_acids"></span><h2 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3781">Omega fatty acids</h2>

<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">One system for naming unsaturated fatty acids is to indicate the position of the <strong>first</strong> double bond counting from the opposite end from the carboxyl group. That terminal carbon atom (shown here in blue) is called the <strong>omega</strong> carbon atom. Thus a monounsaturated fatty acid with its single double bond after carbon #3 (counting from and including the omega carbon) is called an omega-3 fatty acid. But so is a <strong>polyunsaturated</strong> fatty acid, such as linolenic acid (shown here), if its first double bond is in that position.</p>

<figure><img class="internal" alt="Diagram of linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, showing its chemical structure with a highlighted omega carbon atom in blue and a double bond indicated by a red arrow." loading="lazy" src="https://bio.libretexts.org/@api/deki/files/5133/linolenic.gif?revision=1" /><figcaption>Figure 3.0.4: Linolenic Acid</figcaption></figure>

<p class="lt-bio-3781" style="background-color: unset;">Some studies have suggested that omega-3 fatty acids help protect against cardiovascular disease. For this reason, a Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) of 1.1 grams/day for women (1.6 for men) was established in September 2002.</p>

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<hr class="autoattribution-divider" /><div class="autoattribution"><p>This page titled <a target="_blank" class="internal mt-self-link" href="/Sandboxes/johnnyphung/biology/02:_The_Molecules_of_Life/2.03:_Fats">2.3: Fats</a> is shared under a <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0" target="_blank">CC BY  3.0</a>  license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.biology-pages.info/">John W. Kimball</a> via <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.biology-pages.info/" target="_blank">source content</a> that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.</p></div>

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