Proteins Flashcards
When is lipid autoxidation termination favored? What occurs as a result of the reaction?
-high levels of radicals present of low oxygen levels
-lipid radical reaction comes to an end, not end of oxidation as a whole
-covalently linked lipids are produced
What three things can initiate lipid autoxidation?
- transition metals
- ionizing radiation (UV light)
- heat (reduces energy barrier to break double bond)
Besides autoxidation, name the two other oxidation methods. What happens in them? What are some of their defining features?
- photosensitizer-induced oxidation = singlet oxygen forms from metal-containing compounds reacting,
-radical forms at double bond
-no initiating ROS required - lipoxygenase enzymes = present in many animals/plants
-contains iron catalytic site to form alkyl radical
-commonly inactivated by blanching
What five things can inhibit oxidation of lipids?
- amber bottles = to filter UV light
- bleaching = removes photosensitizers
- blanching = inactivates oxidizing enzymes
- chelators = molecules that bind to metal to make them unable to oxidize lipids
- antioxidants = slow rate of oxidation reactions
What are the two antioxidant mechanisms? How do they work?
- quench singlet oxygen = oxygen returns to triplet/ground state and absorbed energy is dissipated as heat (ex. of quencher = ascorbic acid)
- compete for free radicals = antioxidants can neutralize or “quench” free radicals, preventing or slowing down the chain reactions that free radicals can initiate
What kind of compounds are a major class of anti-oxidants? What makes them good anti-oxidants?
- phenolic compounds
-form resonance hybrids which stabilizes their radical
What makes an antioxidant good at preventing oxidation?
-must easily form radicals, but remain stable
What is a limiting factor in frying? Why are plant lipids not great for frying?
-smoke point
-plant lipids oxidize faster
What occurs in a lipid hydrolysis reaction?
-can be catalyzed by an acid or base (saponification)
-carbonyl serves as site for nucleophilic attack
-reaction is not stereospecific, all fatty acids are removed
What are the products of a base catalyzed lipid hydrolysis reaction (saponification)?
-glycerol and fatty acid soaps
Describe an enzyme-catalyzed lipolysis reactions. What are the products?
-lipase enzymes catalyze hydrolysis
-used in lipid digestion
-stereospecific, sn-2 is kept
-produces short-chain fatty acids, monoglycerides, diglycerides, overall amphiphilic molecules
What occurs in an esterification/interesterification lipid reaction? How does it impact the physical properties of lipids?
-esterification = condensation reaction (reverse of lipolyis)
-interesterification = fatty acids are removed and randomly reattached to glycerol backbone
-can be carried out by base-catalyzed hydrolysis or lipases as an alternative to partial hydrogenation
-alters crystallization/melting behavior
-creates good shortenings
What occurs in a hydrogenation reaction? What is the product?
-a metal catalyst adsorbs diatomic hydrogen and forms hydrogen radicals
-the acyl lipid chain then adsorbs to catalyst by breaking double bond (makes unsaturated fats saturated)
-the hydrogen is added across the double bond
-creates shortenings
What are some of the properties of nonpolar (hydrophobic) uncharged amino acids?
-large R-groups = taste bitter
-Tyr and Trp have some minor hydrophilic groups, but they are largely hydrophobic
-smaller R-groups = taste sweet
-Gly and Ala have relatively small interactions with water
What are some of the properties of charged amino acids
-bulky but interact well with water
-contain R groups which can be protonated/deprotonated
-acidic = negatively charged, have acidic taste (glutamic and aspartic acid
-basic = positively charged, have bitter taste (arginine, lysine, histidine)
What are some of the properties of polar (hydrophilic) uncharged amino acids?
-polar groups are able to form hydrogen bonds
-positive interactions with water
-generally taste sweet
-exception = methionine is hydrophobic and bitter
Describe Aspartame’s structure. What are some of its defining features?
-dipeptide of Asp + Phe with methyl groups on carboxylic acid of Phe
-relative sweetness intensity of about 200 (200x sweeter than sucrose)
-used in diet beverages
-hydrolyzes at high temperatures (not good for baking)
Describe some of the features of a peptide bond.
-rigid and planar
-limits rotation of bonds about alpha carbon
-almost exclusively in trans-configuration
Protein folding depends on ____________, environmental interactions, and bond formation.
-primary structure
Describe the secondary structure of a protein.
-alpha helix forms
-intra-coiling hydrogen bonding in backbone
-beta sheets form hydrogen bonds with neighboring portions of strands
-similar R-groups cluster on one side of strands
Describe the tertiary structure of a protein. What three types of proteins fall under this category?
-globular = compact, most common food proteins, bury hydrophobic groups in protein core
-fibrous = elongated, mainly hydrophilic, common to have repeating structures linked together
-random coil proteins = less defined structural motifs, often poor water solubility
Describe the quaternary structure of a protein. What are some examples?
-can consist of several subunits
-ex. glycinin, hemoglobin, collagen