Is Fatty Acid A Lipid ? 9 Facts You Should Know

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Fatty acid is a one type of lipid that is consist of structural moieties include glyceryl esters that are esters of glycerol and fatty acids.

Are fatty acids types of lipids?

Yes, fatty acid is a one type of lipid. It is a globular structure of fat that is consist of one glycerol molecule joined to three fatty acids.The most common question is that “is fatty acid a lipid”?The fatty acid is a carboxylic acid which formed of long chains of hydrocarbons. The feature is important in which the type of fatty acids joined to the glycerol molecule that determine the properties of the lipid.

There are wide range of biomolecule which are insoluble in polar solvents and are togather called lipids. It acts as a messenger, storing energy that is the main important role of this lipid. They are also classified into different 8 categories in which one categories is known as a fatty acid.

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Is fatty acid a simple lipid?

Yes, Fatty acid is simple lipid that is consist of two types of structural moieties that include glyceryl esters that are esters of glycerol and fatty acids.for example, triacylglycerols, mono and diacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters that are ester of cholesterol and fatty acids.

Types of fatty acids in lipids

The types of fatty acid are divided in three groups on the basis of hydrocarbon chain length such as, Short chain fatty acids, Medium chain fatty acids and Long chain fatty acids. The fatty acids are also divided in two group on the basis of presence of double bond.

1.Saturated fatty acids:

The alkyl chain of saturated fatty acids contains no double bond.

2.Unsaturated fatty acids:

The alkyl chain of unsaturated fatty acids contains one or more double bonds or ethylenic groups, for example: oleic acids and palmitoleic acids.

Most of the unsaturated fatty acids have cis doube bonds and also divided in two groups on the basis of number of double bonds like, (1) Monounsaturated fatty acids and (2) Polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Simply, the basic difference between each of these is the number of carbon atom with or without two hydrogen atoms bounded to them.

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Is saturated fatty acid a lipid?

Yes, Saturated fatty acid is a one type of lipid. The difference between fatty acids and lipid is that,lipid is simply act as a biomolecule while fatty acids is a most common type of lipid.

The saturated fatty acids are composed of saturated hydrocarbon with no double bond or triple bonds.It has carboxylic group on one end and only single bond between the carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon tail.

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Is unsaturated fatty acid a lipid?

Yes, Unsaturated fatty acid is a type of lipid. A fatty acid is always a type of lipid.It doesn’t matter if it is saturated or unsaturated. Unsaturated fatty acid can form an ester, by combining with glycerol.It has less energy as compare to saturated fatty acids.

Omega 3 and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids naturally found.The carboxyl functional group is always present that is the terminal end of the molecule, with the chain made up of varying length of alkenes and with various levels of substitution and different positions for unsaturated chains.

Is long-chain in fatty acid a lipid?

Yes, the long chain of fatty acids are lipids which also known as a non-esterified or free fatty acids. The longest chain of fatty acids have around 13 to 22 carbon. They are mostly found in oils and fats include olive oil, nuts, soybean oil etc.

Is free fatty acid a lipid?

Yes, free fatty acids are a type of lipids that are produced by the hydrolysis of oils and fats. The level of free fatty acids depends on temperature,moisture content and time because the fats and oils are exposed to various environments such as storage,processing and heating.They are the bulding blocks of fats.

Common fatty acids in lipids

There are common fatty acids in lipids in which Triglycerides are the most common type of fattyacids in lipids,another most widely distributed fatty acids are stearic acids and palmitic acids that is also known as a 16 to 18 carbon fattyacids.another 2 most common fattyacids are myristic acids and lauric acids respectively.

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Conclusion

Fatty acid is always a one type of lipid.The difference is only that,either it is simple,saturated or in the form of unsaturated fatty acids.

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