Lipids

Lipids are heterogeneous group of water insoluble compounds which are oily or greasy in consistency
but soluble in non-polar solvents like ether, chloroform, benzene etc.

For examples, fatty acids, fats, oils, waxes, certain vitamins and hormones are considered as lipids.
Lipids are composed of C, H, O, like carbohydrates but poor in oxygen and therefore require more
oxygen for oxidation to release energy.
 1. Simple Lipids:
A. Fats:
(a) They are esters of fatty acids with glyc­erol.

(b) They are found in nature in large quanti­ties.

(c) They are the best reserve of food material in the human body.

(d) They act as insulator for the loss of body heat.

(e) They act as a padding material for pro­tecting internal organs.

(f) The chemical structure of fat (triglyceride) consists of three different molecules of fatty acids with one
molecule of glycerol.

(g) The three different fatty acids (R1, R2, R3) are esterified with the three hydroxyl groups of glycerol
Physical Properties of Fats:

(a) The fats are insoluble in water, but readily soluble in ether, chloroform, benzene, car­bon tetrachloride.

(b) They are readily soluble in hot alcohol but slightly soluble in cold.

(c) They are themselves good solvents for other fats, fatty acids, etc.

(d) They are tasteless, odorless, colourless and neutral in reaction.

(e) Several neutral fats are readily crystallized, e.g., beef, mutton.

(f) Their melting points are low.

g) The specific gravity of solid fats is about 0.86. So fat people float in water more read­ily than thin ones.

(h) They spread uniformly over the surface of water; so the spreading effect is to lower surface tension.
B. Waxes: Esters of fatty acids with higher molecular weight monohydric alcohols

They are mainly three types:

(a) True waxes are esters of higher fatty acids with acetyl alcohol or other higher straight chain
alcohols.

(b) Cholesterol esters are esters of fatty acid with cholesterol.

(c) Vitamin A and vitamin D esters are palmitic or stearic acid esters of vita­min A (Retinol) or
vitamin D, respec­tively.
 2. Compound Lipids

A. Phospholipids (phosphatides):Major membrane lipids

(i) They are esters of fatty acids with glyc­erol containing an esterified phosphoric acid and a
nitrogen base.

(ii) They are present in large amounts in nerve tissue, brain, liver, kidney, pancreas and heart.

Biological functions of phospholipids:

(i) They increase the rate of fatty acid oxida­tion.

(ii) They act as carriers of inorganic ions across the membranes.

(iii) They help blood-clotting.

(iv) They act as prosthetic group to certain en­zymes.

(v) They form the structures of membranes, matrix of cell wall, myelin sheath, microsomes and
mitochondria.
It is based on the type of alcohol present in the phospholipid. There are three types:

1. Glycerophosphatides — In this, glycerol is the alcohol group.

Example: (i) Phosphatidyl ethanolamine (cephalin).

(ii) Phosphatidyl choline (Lecithin).

(iii) Phosphatidyl serine.

(iv) Plasmalogens.

(v) Phosphatidic acid.

2. Phosphoinositides — In this, inositol is the alcohol.

Example: Phosphatidyl inositol (Lipositol).

Example: Sphingomyelin.

The phospholipids include the following groups:

1. Phosphatidic acid

Phosphatidic acid is important as an intermediate in the synthesis of triacylglycerol’s and phospholipids.

Cardiolipin:

(a) It is formed from phosphatidyl glyc­erol.

(b) Chemically, it is di-phosphatidyl glyc­erol.

(c) It is found in inner membrane of mi­tochondria and bacterial wall.

Physiological Functions of Lecithin:

(i) It facilitate the combinations with proteins to from lipoproteins of plasma and cells.

(ii) Acetylcholine formed from choline has an important role in the transmission of nerv­ous impulses across
synapses.

(iii) Choline is the most important lipotropic agent as it can prevent formation of fatty liver.

(iv) Lecithin lowers the surface tension of lung alveoli. Dipalmityl lecithin is a major constituent of “lung
surfactant” which pre­vents the adherence of the inner surface of the alveoli of the lungs (preventing the
collapse of the alveoli) by its surface ten­sion lowering effect.

(v) It lowers the surface tension of water mol­ecule and helps in the emulsification of fat.
3. Cephalin (Phosphatidyl ethanolamine):

They always occur in the tissues in asso­ciation with lecithin’s and are very similar in properties. The
only difference is the nitrogenous base.
4. Phosphatidyl Serine:

A cephaline like phospholipid is found in tissues.

5. Phosphatidyl inositol (Lipositol or Phosphoinositides):

(i) It acts as second messenger in Ca++ dependent hormone action.

(ii) Some signals must provide commu­nication between the hormone

(iii) They are more acidic than the other phospholipids.

(i) These are phosphoacylglycerols con­taining only one acyl radical in a po­
sition e.g., Lysolecithin.

7. Plasmalogens:

(i) These are the contents of brain and muscle.

8. Sphingomyelins:

(i) These are found in large quantities in brain and nerve tissue
(ii) . These contain sphingosine (18 car­bon) (amino alcohol) fatty acid,
phos­phoric acid and choline. No glycerol is present.
 B. Glycolipids:

These contain an amino alcohol (sphingosine or iso-sphingosine) attached with an amide linkage to a
fatty acid and glycosidically to a carbohydrate moiety (sugars, amino sugar, sialic acid).

These are further classified into:

(i) Cerebrosides.

(ii) Gangliosides.

(i) Cerebrosides:

(a) Cerebrosides contain galactose, a high molecular weight fatty acid and sphingosine. Therefore, they
may also be classified as sphingolipids.

(b) They are the chief constituent of my­elin sheath.

(c) They may be differentiated by the type of fatty acid in the molecule.
(ii) Gangliosides:

(a) These are glycolipids occurring in the brain.

(b) Gangliosides contain ceramide (sphingosine + fatty acids), glucose, galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine
and sialic acid.

C. Lipoproteins:

(i) Triacylglycerol (45%), phospholipids (35%), cholesterol and cholesteryl esters (15%), free fatty acids
(less than 5%) and also protein combine to form a hydrophilic lipoprotein complex.

(ii) The density of lipoproteins increases as the protein content rises and the lipid con­tent falls and the
size of the particle be­comes smaller.
 D. Sulpholipids (Sulphatides):
(i) These have been isolated from brain and other animal tissues.

(ii) These are sulphate derivatives of the galactosyl residue in cerebrosides.

Sterols:

This is a very important group of lipids found in practically all eucaryotes. More than
hundred sterols are known of which we may cite cholesterol which is the principal sterol
of vertebrates, ergosterol which is a natural precursor of vitamin D, stigmasterol,
sitosterol, important sterols in plants.
 Type # 3. Derived Lipids:
A. Fatty acids:

(i) These are obtained by the hydrolysis of fats.

(ii) Fatty acids occurring in natural fats usu­ally contain an even number of carbon atoms because they are
synthesized from 2-carbon units and are straight chain de­rivatives.

(iii) The straight chain may be saturated (con­taining no double bonds) or unsaturated (containing one or
more double bonds).

(iv) Carbon atoms of fatty acids are numbered from the carboxyl carbon (carbon No.l). The carbon atom
adjacent to the carboxyl carbon (Carbon No. 2) is also known as the α -carbon. Carbon atom No. 3 is the β-
carbon.

(v) Various conventions are used for indicat­ing the number and position of the dou­ble bonds, e.g., Δ9
indicates a double bond between carbon atoms 9 and 10 of the fatty acid.
Types:

i. Straight chain.

ii. Branched chain.

1. Straight chain:

(a) Saturated Fatty Acids:

Saturated fatty acids are those which contain only single bonds in their hydrocarbon chain.

(b) Unsaturated:

Unsaturated fatty acids are those which contain one or more double bonds in their hydrocarbon
chain.