Storage lipids Flashcards
What are storage lipids used for?
Energy storage and insulation
What is the structure of triacylglycerol?
3 fatty acids attached by ester bonds to each hydroxyl group in glycerol
How are triacylglycerols stored?
As droplets in adipocytes
How are triacylglycerols broken down?
Lipase or NaOH cleaves the ester bonds
What happens to the glycerol from a broken down triacylglycerol?
Enters glycolysis
What happens to the fatty acid chains from a broken down triacylglycerol?
Undergo beta-oxidation and get converted into acetyl-CoA and enter CAC
What happens if you treat fats with NaOH?
Forms soap: saponification
Why are fats an efficient way to store energy?
They are highly reduced and hydrophobic, so can undergo dense packing and can be oxidized to release tons of energy
If fats release so much energy, why aren’t they the main energy source instead of glucose?
They need oxygen to be broken down at all, and transport is very inefficient because they’re hydrophobic
Why is fat transport so inefficient compared to glucose transport?
Fats need to be bound to serum albumin to be transported, which only has 7 binding sites. Glucose can be dissolved directly in the blood
What is the structure of waxes?
Fatty acid chain linked to a long chain alcohol with an ester bond
What are waxes used for?
Energy storage in plankton, water repellent in birds and plants, buoyancy control in whales
