Nonpolar lipid molecules of triglycerides

Triglycerides are nonpolar lipid molecules composed of a glycerol molecule associated with three fatty acid (FA) molecules, and they represent the main form of lipid storage and used as an energy source by human body.

Triglycerides are the lipids commonly known as fat, oil grease, shortening, lard, tallow, suet, ghee, and a verity of other names around the world. A bottle of soybean oil, for example, is pure triglycerides.

In general, the term “fat” used to describe triglycerides that are solid at room temperature and “oil” of they are liquid at room temperature.

Triglycerides are a type of fat. They enter human blood when:
• extra calories that being eaten are not used for energy.
• eaten excess fat in human diet.
• they are released from the fat already stored in human body.

Fats and oils are actually mixtures of many different types of triglycerides with different chemical properties, which explains why some mixtures are solid and some are liquid.

Triglycerides provide energy to the body and are found throughout the food supply in both animals and plant products. Cholesterol is another dietary lipid, but it is found only in animal products and cholesterol does not exist in the plant kingdom.

High levels of triglycerides in human blood can increase the chance to develop heart disease. Triglycerides do not build up in the arteries like bad cholesterol (LDL). Instead, high levels can make LDL cholesterol change into a more harmful form that damages the arteries.

If triglycerides level 500 mg/dL or more, the person are at risk for pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can cause many other health problems and may be life-threatening.

They are synthesized primarily through the glycerol phosphate pathway, and the traffic of triglycerides in specific tissues, such as muscle, liver, and adipose tissue, depends on the nutritional state of the individual, and is a biological process that is essential for life. An imbalance in this process may lead to various metabolic disorders, such as obesity, lipotoxicity, or hypertriglyceridemia.
Nonpolar lipid molecules of triglycerides

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The name given to simple triglycerides

In nature, fatty acids are found as esters, often of the triol glycerin, HOCH2CHOHCH2OH. These triesters of glycerin are known as triacylglycerols or triglycerides.

Simple triglycerides usually bear the name of the component acid with a prefix of tri- and a suffix of –in replacing the terminal –ic of the acid e.g. tributyrin.

With mixed triglycerides in which there are three different fatty acids, the name of the first two single acids end with the suffix –yl and the third single single acid ends with the suffix –in, e.g., α-caproxyl- β - lauryl – α’-olein.

Greek letters are used to denote positions relative to the carboxyl carbon.
* The first carbon following the carboxyl carbon is α carbon.
* The second carbon following the carboxyl carbon is β carbon.
* The third carbon following the carboxyl carbon is α’ carbon.
* The last carbon in the chain, farthest from the carboxyl group, is the omega carbon.

If the mixed triglycerides has two molecules of the same acid, the prefix di- and suffix –in are given to this acid (e.g. β–palmityl- α, α’-distearin).

The glycerol carbon may be numbered as 1, 2, 3 or be designate as α, β, α’. Thus, β–palmityl- α, α’-distearin could be designated 2–palmityl- 1, 3-distearin.
The name given to simple triglycerides

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Dietary Fats

Dietary Fats
In contrast to protein, dietary fats have a negative reputation because of their link to heart disease and cancer.

In some cases their negative reputation is justified although the role of dietary fat in health and disease is very complicated and not fully understood by scientists.

On the one hand, we now that certain types of fat are required for proper growth and maintenance of health, and their absence in the diet causes specific deficiency diseases.

On the other hand, too much of certain kinds of fat can increase the risk of chronic disease. Part of the confusion is that several types of fat exist in nature and are present in the food we eat. Another point of confusion is that many different names are used to describe the substance in food we commonly call “fat.”

To a chemist any molecule in food that does not dissolve in water belongs to a family of chemicals called lipids. The most important lipids in the food supply are triglycerides and cholesterol, which are chemically unrelated substances except for the fact that they do not dissolve in water.

Triglycerides are the lipids commonly known as fat, oil grease, shortening, lard, tallow, suet, ghee, and a verity of other names around the world.

A bottle of soybean oil, for example, is pure triglycerides.

We generally use term “fat” to describe triglycerides that are solid at room temperature and “oil” of they are liquid at room temperature.

Fats and oils are actually mixtures of many different types of triglycerides with different chemical properties, which explains why some mixtures are solid and some are liquid.

Triglycerides provide energy to the body and are found throughout the food supply in both animals and plant products. Cholesterol is another dietary lipid, but it is found only in animal products and cholesterol does not exist in the plant kingdom.
Dietary Fats

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