Lipids Flashcards
Fatty acids are
- water-insoluble hydrocarbons used for cellular energy storage.
- highly reduced and thus provide a rich source of stored chemical energy for cells.
- Storage of hydrophobic fats as triacylglycerols is also highly efficient because water is not needed to hydrate the stored fats.
Membrane lipids are:
- composed of hydrophobic tails attached to polar head groups.
- Cellular membranes are composed of a variety of lipids, including glycerophospholipids and sterols.
- These lipids are used for structuring membranes as well as for displaying molecules on the membrane surfaces for signaling and molecular recognition.
Many lipids are present in the cell at ________ amounts than those making up membranes or being stored as fat.
These lipids can function as:
smaller;
- cellular messengers
- hormones
- electron carriers
- pigments
The chemical properties of lipids are related to their __________ and _____________
structure and composition
Biological Lipids Features:
Lipids function are also diverse:
Biological lipids:
- Chemically diverse
- Generally insoluble in water.
Lipids functions are also diverse:
- Stored energy
- Components of biological membranes.
Other lipid functions:
- electron carriers
- hydrophobic anchors for proteins
- emulsifying agents in the digestive tract
- hormones
- intracellular messengers
Fatty acids are:
- Water-insoluble hydrocarbons with attached _______used for cellular energy storage
- Generally ________and thus provide a rich source of________
- Storage of hydrophobic fats (fatty acids) as triacylglycerols is not _______highly_______ because water is not needed to hydrate the stored fats
- COO-
- highly reduced; stored chemical energy
- hydrated; efficient
- fatty acids = ____________
- oxidation of fatty acids (to CO2 and H2O) is highly ______________
- hydrocarbon derivatives
- exergonic (energy producing)
fatty acids = __________ with hydrocarbon tails ranging from __ to ___ carbons long
- can be _______ or ______
- can be _______ or _______
carboxylic acids; 4 to 36 (C4 to C36)
- saturated or unsaturated
- branched or unbranched
Poor solubility in water dur to the ____________
- increased chain length _______ solubility
- decreased double bond number ________ solubility
carboxylic acid group is _______ and _______ at neutral pH
nonpolar hydrocarbon chain
- decreases
- decreases
polar and ionized
Nomenclature for Unbranched Fatty Acids
- the chain length and number of bonds, separated by a colon
- numbering begins at the carboxyl carbon
- positions of double bonds are indicated by ∆ and a superscript number
Common Patterns in Fatty Acids
- even numbers of carbon atoms (12 to 24 carbons)
- mostly straight chains
- Can be unsaturated
- if monounsaturated, the double bond is usually between C-9 and C-10 (∆9)
- if polyunsaturated fatty acids:
- the double bonds are usually ∆12 and ∆15
- double bonds are usually separated by a methylene group
- double bonds are usually in the cis configuration
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs)
Contain more than one double bon in their backbone
- omega-3 (w-3) fatty acids= double bond between C-3 and C-4 relative to the most distant carbon (w)
- omega-6 (w-6) fatty acids= double bond betweeen C-6 and C-7 relative to w
humans must obtain the omega-3 PUFA α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3(∆9,12,15)) from_________
their diet
humans use ALA to synthesize:
- eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5(∆5,8,11,14,17))
- docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6(∆4,7,10,13,16,19))
the optimal dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 PUFAs is between _____ and _____
1:1 and 4:1
triacylglycerols are fatty acid esters or glycerol
- composed of three fatty acids in ester linkage with a single glycerol
- May consist of
- (one kind of fatty acid)
- mixed (two or three different fatty acids)
- non-polar, hydrophobic
Triacylglycerols Provide ________________
- Stored Energy and Insulation
- vertebrates store triacylglycerols as lipid droplets in adipocytes (fat cells)
- plants store triacylglycerols in the seeds
Advantages of Using Triacylglycerols as Stored Fuels
- Generally highly or more reduced state
- Stored in unhydrated form
Lipases
enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of stored triacylglycerols, releasing fatty acids for export to sites where they are required as fuels
adipocytes and germinating seeds contain lipases
Dietary intake of _________ is linked to a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease
trans fatty acids
trans fatty acids do what?
- raise the level of triacyglycerols in the blood
- raise the level of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood
- lower the level of HDL (“good”) cholesterol
- increase the body’s inflammatory response
- Double layer of lipids that acts as a barrier to polar molecules and ions
- amphipathic
- hydrophobic regions associated with each other
- hydrophilic regions associate with water
- biological membranes
- membrane lipids
Four general types of membrane lipids
- phospholipids = have hydrophobic regions composed of two fatty acids joined to glycerol or sphingosine
- glycolipids = contain a simple sugar or a complex oligosaccharide at the polar ends
- archaeal tetraether lipids = have two very long alkyl chains ether-linked to glycerol at both ends
- sterols = compounds characterized by a rigid system of four fused hydrocarbon rings