LIPIDS

DEFINITION
 heterogeneous group of naturally occurring compounds,
of biochemical importance; including fats, oils, steroids,
waxes, and related com- pounds,

 related more by their physical than by their chemical

properties.

 common property of being

(1) relatively insoluble in water and
(2) soluble in nonpolar solvents such as ether and
chloroform.

Unlike Carohydrate and protein ; mostly small molecules

 FUNCTIONS OF LIPIDS

 Fats and oils are principal stored form of

energy; concentrated fuel reserve, 1 gm of
fat yields 9 kilocalories of energy

 Phospholipids and sterols are major

structural elements of biological
membranes; regulate membrane
permeability

 They acts as surfactants, detergents and

emulsifying agents(amphipathic lipids)
FUNCTIONS
 Provides insulation against changes in
external temperature( subcutaneous fat);
protects some internal organs; gives smooth
contour to body

 Act as cellular metabolic regulator ( steroid

hormones/ prostaglandins)

 Improve taste and palatability of food

 Helps in absorption of fat soluble vitamins

( A, D, E and K)
FUNCTIONS
 Combinations of lipid and protein
(lipoproteins) are important cellular
constituent, occurring both in the cell
membrane and in the mitochondria, and
serving also as the means of transporting
lipids in the blood.

 Non polar lipid act as electrical insulator:

allowing rapid propagation of depolarization
wave along myelinated nerve.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF LIPIDS
 Simple Lipids

 Complex Lipids

 derived lipids

 Miscellaneous
SIMPLE LIPIDS
Esters of fatty acids with various
alcohols.

• Neutral fats and oils: esters of fatty acids

with glycerols; Triglycerides

• Waxes: Esters of fatty acids with higher

mole- cular weight monohydric alcohols.
 COMPLEX LIPIDS
 Esters of fatty acids containing groups in addition to an
alcohol and a fatty acid. (phosphate, nitrogenous base,
carbohydrate, protein etc )

Phospholipids:
• Lipids containing phosphoric acid

• frequently have nitrogen- containing bases and other

substituents,
• in glycerophospholipids the alcohol is glycerol and

• in sphingophospholipids the alcohol is sphingosine.

Glycolipids: Lipids containing a carbohydrate (fatty acid,

sphingosine, and nitrogenous base.)- aka glycosphingolipids

Others: aminolipids, sulfolipids , lipoproteins

Derived lipids:
 derivatives obtained on the hydrolysis of simple

and complex lipids

 These include glycerol and other alcohols, fatty

acids,mono- and diacylglycerols, lipid (fat) soluble
vitamins, steroid hormones, hydrocarbons and
ketone bodies.

Miscellaneous lipids:
o include a large number of compounds possessing

the characteristics of lipids e.g., carotenoids,

squalene,hydrocarbons such as pentacosane (in
bees wax), terpenes etc.
FATTY ACIDS
 type of derived lipid.

 May be found in
- Unesterified form- free fatty acid- associated
with albumin
- Esterified form- fatty acyl esters in more
complex molecules- eg. Triacylglycerol,
cholesteryl esters, phospholipids etc
(generally present in lipoprotein molecules) -
much common
 Fatty acids are aliphatic carboxylic acids with
hydrocarbon chains (hydrophobic)

 They have the general formula: R- COOH

 Carboxyl group- physiological pH- ionised- COO- -
affinity for water amphipathic character; but
hydrophilic character decreases with increase in
chain length
Functions:
 Provide energy

 Structural components of membrane lipids-

phospholipids, glycolipids
 Precursors of prostaglandins

 In form of triacylglycerol- major energy

reserve of body
CLASSIFICATION OF FATTY ACIDS
 Depending on the length of hydrocarbon
chain
1. Short chain 2 – 6 carbon atoms

2. Medium chain 8 – 14 carbon atoms

3. Long chain 16 – 22 carbon atoms

4. Very long chain fatty acids > 24 carbon

atoms
CLASSIFICATION OF FATTY ACIDS
 Depending on the total number of carbon
atoms

1. Even chain Fatty acids: They have carbon

atoms 2, 4, 6 and similar series.

2. Odd chain Fatty acids: They have carbon

atoms 3, 5, 7 etc
CLASSIFICATION OF FATTY ACID

 Depending on the
nature of
hydrocarbon chain.

• Saturated fatty
acids

• Unsaturated Fatty
acids
SATURATED FATTY ACIDS

 Saturated fatty
acids contains no
double bond.

 E.g Acetic acid,

Propioninc acid,
Palmitic and Stearic
acid.
UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS
Containing one or more double bonds

1. Monounsaturated fatty acids

(monoethenoid, monoenoic)

2. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (polyethenoid,

polyenoic)

e.g. Oleic acid, Linoleic acid, Arachidonic acid

CIS AND TRANS ISOMERISM
 A type of geometric isomerism occuring in
unsaturated fatty acids, depending on the
orientation of atoms or groups around the
axes of double bonds, which do not allow
rotation.
 If the acyl chains are on the same side of the

bond, it is cis-, as in oleic acid; if on opposite

sides, it is trans-, as in elaidic acid, the trans
isomer of oleic acid
 Naturally occurring unsaturated long-chain

fatty acids are nearly all of the cis

configuration
TRANS FATTY ACIDS
 Partial Hydrogenation converts cis double bond to
trans double bond.

 Trans fatty acid are high in processed food, bakery

products, fast food, dairy products and hydrogenated
edible oil.

 Trans fatty acids are present in certain foods, arising

as a by-product of the saturation of fatty acids during
hydrogenation, or “hardening,” of natural

 They increase the level of LDL and reduce the HDL

associated with increased cardiovascular disease.
Essential fatty acids
 The fatty acids that cannot be synthesized by

the body and, therefore, should be supplied

in the diet
 Chemically, polyunsaturated fatty acids

 Two fatty acids are dietary essentials in

humans: linoleic acid(precursor of

arachidonic acid, the substrate for
prostaglandin synthesis) and linolenic acid.
 Arachidonic acid essential if linoleic acid is

deficient in the diet.

Importance:
 Synthesis of another important group of

compounds, namely eicosanoids

 the membrane structure and function

Others:
 transport of cholesterol

 formation of lipoproteins
Deficiency of EFA:
 results in phrynoderma or toad skin

 characterized by

- presence of horny eruptions on the posterior

and lateral parts of limbs, on the back and

buttocks
- loss of hair

- poor wound healing

HYDROGENATION
 Unsaturated fatty acid may be converted to
the saturated fatty acid by hydrogenation of
double bond.

 Hydrogenation of oil can lead to solidification

and saturation
MELTING POINT
 Melting point are strongly influenced by the
length and degree of unsaturation.
 general, addition of double bonds decreases

the melting temperature of a fatty acid,

whereas increasing the chain length
increases the melting temperature.
 Or fluidity decreases with chain length and

increases according to degree of

unsaturation.
 At room temperature, saturated fatty acids
from 12:0 to 24:0 have waxy consistency,
whereas unsaturated fatty acids of these
lengths are oily.

.
ESTER FORMATION
o Both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
form esters with alcohols. e.g.

o Glycerol + FA
Monoacylglycerol
o Monoacylglycerol + FA Diacylglycerol
o Diacylglycerol + FA Triacylglycerol

o All fatty acids undergo beta oxidation in the

body to give energy.
TRIACYLGLYCEROL
o also referred to as triglycerides, fats, or
neutral fats.
o Triacylglycerols are composed of three
fatty acids each in ester linkage with a
single glycerol
TYPES
 Simple Tri acyl glycerol: If all the three
hydroxyl groups of the glycerol are esterified
to the same fatty acid. e.g. Tripalmitin,

 Mixed Triacyl Glycerol: Different fatty acid are

esterified to the hydroxyl groups of glycerol.
 Fatty acid on carbon 1 is typically saturated,

that on carbon 2 is unsaturated, and that on

carbon 3 can be either.
 More common
Storage form of fatty acids:
 In adipose tissue, TAG is stored in the cytosol

of the cells in nearly anhydrous form.

 primarily function as fuel reserves of animals

 The fat reserve of normal humans -

sufficientt o meet the body's caloric

requirements for 2-3 months.
 serves as "depot fat," ready for mobilization

when the body requires it for fuel.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF TRIACYL
GLYCEROL
 hydrophobic and insoluble in water

 Neutral – since fatty acids lose their charge during

ester formation with glycerol

Physical state:
 Oils : Triacyl glycerol which contain higher proportion of

unsaturated fatty acid or short chain- liquid

 Fats : contain mainly saturated long chain fatty acids-

solid

 Fat containing Medium chain triglyceride or

unsaturated fatty acid are soft fat. E.g. Butter
HYDROLYSIS OF TRIGLYCERIDE
 Triglycerides are
hydrolysed by
enzyme Lipases.
WAXES
 Biological waxes are esters of long-chain
(C14 to C36) saturated and unsaturated fatty
acids with long-chain(C16 to C30) alcohols.

 Biological waxes are widely used in

manufacture of lotions, ointments and
polishes
NUCLEIC ACID
NUCLEOSIDE AND NUCLEOTIDE
NITROGENOUS BASE IN NUCLEOSIDE
AND NUCLEOTIDE
SUGARS IN NUCLEOTIDES
Nucleic acids
 required for the storage and expression of genetic

information.
 two chemically distinct types of nucleic acids:

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid

(RNA)

 long linear polymers, that carry information in a

form that can be passed from one generation to
the next.
 consist of a large number of linked nucleotides-

also known as polynucleotides

 Genetic information is stored in the sequence of

bases along a nucleic acid chain.

 Genes specify the kinds of proteins that are made
by cells, but DNA is not the direct template for
protein synthesis.

"central dogma of molecular biology"

DNA
 Polymer of deoxyribonucleotides
 Monomeric units: deoxyadenylate,

deoxyguanylate, deoxycytidylate, and

thymidylate
 monomeric units of DNA are held in

polymeric form by 3′,5′-phosphodiester

bridges constituting a single strand
 chemical basis of heredity

 organized into genes, the fundamental

units of genetic information.

FEATURES
 Double stranded, helical structure: Two helical
polynucleotide chains are coiled around a common axis
called the axis of symmetry. (twisted ladder resemblance)

 Two strands are antiparallel- 5’to 3’ and 3’ to 5’ direction

 The sugar-phosphate backbones are on the outside and the

purine and pyrimidine bases lie on the inside of the helix.

 Base pairing occur between adenine and thymine; guanine

and cytosine- held by hydrogen bonds- 2 and 3 Hydrogen
bonds respectively (DNA with high GC-content is more
stable than DNA with low GC-content.)

 Due to this specific base pairing, one strand is always

complementary to another
 Follows Chagraff’s rule, ie, no. of adenine= no. of
thymine and no. of guanine = no. of cytosine
 STRUCTURAL FORMS OF THE DOUBLE
HELIX:

 The B form, described by Watson and Crick in 1953, is usually

found under physiologic conditions (low salt, high degree of
hydration).

 Right handed helix

 A single turn of B-DNA about the axis of the molecule contains

ten base pairs.

 The distance spanned by one turn of B-DNA is 3.4 nm.

 The width (helical diameter) of the double helix in B-DNA is 2

nm.
Denaturation:
 separation of double-stranded structure of DNA into

two component strands (ssDNA)

 Loss of helical structure of DNA

 Also known as melting

 Due to disruption of H-bonds between base pairs

(phosphodiester bond remain intact)

 by increasing the temperature / decreasing the salt

concentration/ alteration of pH. 
 During DNA replication and other processes
RIBONUCLEIC ACIDS (RNA)
 polymer of purine and pyrimidine ribonucleotides
linked together by 3′,5′- phosphodiester bridges
 —the “working copies” of the DNA- required for

expression of genetic information

 Three main classes-mRNA, tRNA, rRNA- involved in

some aspect of protein synthesis (differ from each

other in size, function, and special structural
modifications.)

 Genetic material for some viruses

 Coding RNAs: messenger RNAs are translated
into sequences of amino acids (polypeptide
chains or proteins).

 Non coding RNAs: Ribosomal RNAs, transfer

RNAs, and additional small RNA molecules
perform specialized structural, catalytic and
regulatory functions and are not translated.
 Although sharing many features with DNA, RNA
possesses several specific differences:
 sugar moiety: ribose rather than the 2′-

deoxyribose of DNA.
 Although RNA contains the ribonucleotides of

adenine, guanine, and cytosine, it does not

possess thymine; contains the ribonucleotide of
uracil.
 RNA exists as a single strand, whereas DNA exists

as a double-stranded helical molecule (proper

complementary base sequence with opposite
polarity, the single strand of RNA—capable of
folding back on itself like a hairpin and thus
acquiring double- stranded characteristics.
 Chagraff’s rule- need not be obeyed

 Susceptible to alkali hydrolysis

TYPES OF RNA
messenger RNAs, or mRNAs:
 function as messengers conveying the

information in a gene to the protein-

synthesizing machinery, where each serves as
a template on which a specific sequence of
amino acids is polymerized to form a specific
protein molecule, the ultimate gene product

 most heterogeneous in size and stability.

 comprises only about 5% of the RNA in the cell

transfer RNAs; tRNAs
 serve as adapters for the translation of the

information in the sequence of nucleotides of the

mRNA into specific amino acids.
 vary in length from 74 to 95 nucleotides- smallest

of RNAs

 at least 20 species of tRNA molecules in every cell,

at least one (and often several) corresponding to
each of the 20 amino acids required for protein
synthesis.
 make up about 15% of the total RNA in the cell
rRNAs/ ribosomal RNAs:
 Most abundant (80%) of RNAs

 found in association with several proteins as

components of the ribosomes—the complex
structures that serve as the sites for protein
synthesis

 contribute to the formation and function of

ribosomes - necessary for ribosomal assembly and
seem to play key roles in the binding of mRNA to
ribosomes and its translation.