LIPIDS
,FATTY ACIDS
Fatty acids or FAs are a class of lipids consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen, arranged as a linear carbon chain skeleton of variable length,
generally with an even number of atoms, with a carboxyl group at one
end.
FAs from 2 to 30 carbons or more occur, but the most common and
important ones contain between 12 and 22 carbon atoms and are found
in many different animal and plant fats.
,CLASSIFICATION
Classification
Depending on their degree of saturation/unsaturation in the
carbon chain, they can be divided into three classes:
• saturated fatty acids (SFAs), if no double bond is
present;
• monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), if only one
double bond is present;
• polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), if two or more
double bonds are present.
, Moreover on the basis of the absence/presence of double/triple bonds
they can be grouped into two broad classes:
• saturated FAs, if there are no double bonds in the carbon
chain;
• unsaturated FAs, if there are one or more double bonds in the
carbon chain.
On the basis of the ability or not to synthesize them de novo from
endogenous precursors by animals, and whose deficiency can be
reversed by dietary addition, they can be classified as:
• essential fatty acids
• not essential
,FATTY ACIDS
Fatty acids or FAs are a class of lipids consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen, arranged as a linear carbon chain skeleton of variable length,
generally with an even number of atoms, with a carboxyl group at one
end.
FAs from 2 to 30 carbons or more occur, but the most common and
important ones contain between 12 and 22 carbon atoms and are found
in many different animal and plant fats.
,CLASSIFICATION
Classification
Depending on their degree of saturation/unsaturation in the
carbon chain, they can be divided into three classes:
• saturated fatty acids (SFAs), if no double bond is
present;
• monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), if only one
double bond is present;
• polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), if two or more
double bonds are present.
, Moreover on the basis of the absence/presence of double/triple bonds
they can be grouped into two broad classes:
• saturated FAs, if there are no double bonds in the carbon
chain;
• unsaturated FAs, if there are one or more double bonds in the
carbon chain.
On the basis of the ability or not to synthesize them de novo from
endogenous precursors by animals, and whose deficiency can be
reversed by dietary addition, they can be classified as:
• essential fatty acids
• not essential
