MC2 Biochemistry
Lecture Notes for BSN
First Semester, 2019-2020
Prepared by: SALINA OSIAL – ALFAD
Lipids- Properties, Structure, Classification and
Functions
Lipids are a heterogeneous group of organic compounds that are insoluble
in water and soluble in non-polar organic solvents.
They naturally occur in most plants, animals, microorganisms and are used
as cell membrane components, energy storage molecules, insulation, and
hormones.
Properties of Lipids
Lipids may be either liquids or non-crystalline solids at room temperature.
Pure fats and oils are colourless, odorless, and tasteless.
They are energy rich organic molecules
Insoluble in water
Soluble in organic solvents like alcohol, chloroform, acetone, benzene etc.
No ionic charges
Solid triglycerols (Fats) have high proportions of saturated fatty acids.
Liquid triglycerols (Oils) have high proportions of unsaturated fatty acids.
1. Hydrolysis of triglycerols
Triglycerols like any other esters react with water to form their carboxylic acid and
alcohol– a process known as hydrolysis.
2. Saponification:
Triacylglycerols may be hydrolysed by several procedures, the most common of
which utilizes alkali or enzymes called lipases. Alkaline hydrolysis is termed
saponification because one of the products of the hydrolysis is a soap, generally
sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids.
3. Hydrogenation
The carbon-carbon double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids can be hydrogenated
by reacting with hydrogen to produce saturated fatty acids.
4. Halogenation
Unsaturated fatty acids, whether they are free or combined as esters in fats and
oils, react with halogens by addition at the double bond(s). The reaction results
in the decolourisation of the halogen solution.
5. Rancidity:
The term rancid is applied to any fat or oil that develops a disagreeable odour.
Hydrolysis and oxidation reactions are responsible for causing rancidity. Oxidative
rancidity occurs in triacylglycerols containing unsaturated fatty acids.
Structure of Lipids
Lipids are made of the elements Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen, but have a
much lower proportion of water than other molecules such as
carbohydrates.
Unlike polysaccharides and proteins, lipids are not polymers—they lack a
repeating momomeric unit.
They are made from two molecules: Glycerol and Fatty Acids.
A glycerol molecule is made up from three carbon atoms with a hydroxyl
group attached to it and hydrogen atoms occupying the remaining
positions.
Fatty acids consist of an acid group at one end of the molecule and a
hydrocarbon chain, which is usually denoted by the letter ‘R’.
They may be saturated or unsaturated.
A fatty acid is saturated if every possible bond is made with a Hydrogen
atom, such that there exist no C=C bonds.
Saturated fatty acids on the other hand do contain C=C bonds.
Monounsaturated fatty acids have one C=C bond, and polyunsaturated
have more than one C=C bond.
Structure of Triglycerides
Triglycerides are lipids consisting of one glycerol molecule bonded with
three fatty acid molecules.
The bonds between the molecules are covalent and are called Ester bonds.
They are formed during a condensation reaction.
The charges are evenly distributed around the molecule so hydrogen
bonds to not form with water molecules making them insoluble in water.
Classification of Lipids
Lipids can be classified according to their hydrolysis products and according to
similarities in their molecular structures. Three major subclasses are recognized:
1. Simple lipids
(a) Fats and oils which yield fatty acids and glycerol upon hydrolysis.
(b) Waxes, which yield fatty acids and long-chain alcohols upon hydrolysis.
Fats and Oils
Both types of compounds are called triacylglycerols because they are
esters composed of three fatty acids joined to glycerol, a trihydroxy
alcohol.
The difference is on the basis of their physical states at room temperature.
It is customary to call a lipid a fat if it is solid at 25°C, and an oil if it is a
liquid at the same temperature.
These differences in melting points reflect differences in the degree of
unsaturation of the constituent fatty acids.
Waxes
A wax is an ester of a long-chain alcohol (usually mono-hydroxy) and a
fatty acid.
The acids and alcohols normally found in waxes have chains of the order of
12-34 carbon atoms in length.
2. Compound lipids
(a) Phospholipids, which yield fatty acids, glycerol, amino alcohol sphingosine,
phosphoric acid and a nitrogen-containing alcohol upon hydrolysis.
They may be glycerophospholipids or sphingophospholipid depending upon
the alcohol group present (glycerol or sphingosine).
(b) Glycolipids, which yield fatty acids, sphingosine or glycerol, and a carbo-
hydrate upon hydrolysis.
They may also be glyceroglycolipids or sphingoglycolipid depending upon the
alcohol group present (glycerol or sphingosine).
3. Derived lipids:
Hydrolysis product of simple and compound lipids is called derived lipids. They
include fatty acid, glycerol, sphingosine and steroid derivatives.
Steroid derivatives are phenanthrene structure that are quite different from lipids
made up of fatty acids.
Functions of Lipids
It is established that lipids play extremely important roles in the normal functions
of a cell. Not only do lipids serve as highly reduced storage forms of energy, but
they also play an intimate role in the structure of cell membrane and organellar
membranes. Lipids perform many functions, such as:
1. Energy Storage
2. Making Biological Membranes
3. Insulation
4. Protection – e.g. protecting plant leaves from drying up
5. Bouyancy
6. Acting as hormones
7. Act as the structural component of the body and provide the hydrophobic
barrier that permits partitioning of the aqueous contents of cell and sub
cellular structures.
8. Lipids are major sources of energy in animals and high lipid-containing
seeds.
9. Activators of enzymes eg. glucose-6-phosphatase, stearyl CoA desaturase
and ω-mono oxygenase, and β-hydroxy butyric dehydrogenase (a
mitochondrial enzyme), require phosphatidyl choline micelles for
activation.
References
1. http://www.phys.sinica.edu.tw/TIGPNANO/Course/2006_Spring/classnotes/
Nanobio%20031006.pdf
2. http://www.notesonzoology.com/lipids/lipids-definition-classification-an-
functions-biochemistry/3510
3. https://alevelnotes.com/Lipids/58
4. Smith, C. M., Marks, A. D., Lieberman, M. A., Marks, D. B., & Marks, D. B.
(2005). Marks’ basic medical biochemistry: A clinical approach. Philadelphia:
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
