{"id":1838,"date":"2020-08-18T13:26:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T13:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/biochemistry\/biochemistry-of-the-metabolism\/lipid-metabolism\/types-of-fatty-acids\/"},"modified":"2021-10-26T16:08:39","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T14:08:39","slug":"types-of-fatty-acids","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/biochemistry\/biochemistry-of-the-metabolism\/lipid-metabolism\/types-of-fatty-acids\/","title":{"rendered":"Types of Fatty Acids"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_1\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">General information about fatty acids<\/h3>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_1\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"intro\"> The excess of dietary carbohydrates (those which are not required for energy production and glycogen synthesis) is converted to fatty acids in the liver during the fed state; they organise into carbon chains \u2014 the so-called&nbsp;<strong>fatty acid chains<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fatty acid chains are composed of 2C atoms containing Acetyl-CoA molecules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can divide fatty acids based on the number of the double bonds they have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Saturated fatty acids<\/strong>&nbsp;(no double bonds, considered as not that healthy)<\/li><li><strong>Unsaturated fatty acids<\/strong>&nbsp;(have double bonds, considered as healthy) <\/div><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_2\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Saturated fatty acids<\/h2>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_2\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saturated fatty acids are the simplest ones \u2014 in which all the fatty acid chains have single bonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several foods contain a significant proportion of saturated fatty acids; for example animal products such as cream, cheese, butter, milk dairy products and fatty meats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are also vegetable products with high saturated fat content, such as coconut and palm oil (<strong>Table 1<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"pure-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Name<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>C atom number<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>FOOD which contains<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>BUTYRIC ACID<\/td><td>4<\/td><td>BUTTER<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>LAURIC ACID<\/td><td>12<\/td><td>COCONUT OIL, PALM OIL, BREAST MILK<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>MYRISTIC ACID<\/td><td>14<\/td><td>COW&#8217;S MILK &amp; DIARY PRODUCTS<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>PALMITIC ACID<\/td><td>16<\/td><td>PALM OIL AND MEAT<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>STEARIC ACID<\/td><td>18<\/td><td>MEAT AND COCOA BUTTER<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption><strong>Table 1. List of fatty acids in food<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_3\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Unsaturated fatty acids<\/h2>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_3\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unsaturated fatty contains at least one double bond within the chain. These double bonds can be cis-or trans. Even more trans double bond, the molecule it has, even less healthy is the fatty acid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The fatty acid is <strong>mono-unsaturated if it contains one double bond<\/strong>, and <strong>poly-unsaturated if there are more than one<\/strong><\/li><li>Saturated fatty acids are less vulnerable and usually more solid at room temperature than unsaturated fats<\/li><li>Unsaturated fatty acid chains have a lower melting point, which increase the fluidity of cell membranes<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-green-cyan-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Polyunsaturated fatty acids<\/strong>\u00a0are more healthy than unsaturated fatty acids, due to their flexibility. They do not stick to veins compared as much as the saturated ones. Also, they are involved in several critical immune responses and signalling pathways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most essential unsaturated fatty acids are the followings (Table 2):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"pure-table\"><tbody><tr><td>Name<\/td><td><strong>C atom number<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Number of the double bonds<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Place of the double bond(s)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>PALMITIC ACID<\/td><td>16<\/td><td>0<\/td><td>&#8211;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>PALMITOLEIC ACID<\/td><td>16<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>DELTA-9 (<strong>OMEGA 7<\/strong>)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>STEARIC ACID<\/td><td>18<\/td><td>0<\/td><td>&#8211;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>OLEIC ACID<\/td><td>18<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>DELTA-9 (<strong>OMEGA 9)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>LINOLEIC ACID<\/td><td>18<\/td><td>2<\/td><td>DELTA-9, 12 (<strong>OMEGA 6<\/strong>)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>LINOLENIC ACID<\/td><td>18<\/td><td>3<\/td><td>DELTA-9,12,15 (<strong>OMEGA 3<\/strong>)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ARACHIDONIC ACID<\/td><td>20<\/td><td>4<\/td><td>DELTA-5,8,11,14 (<strong>OMEGA 6<\/strong>)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption>Table 2. Unsaturated fatty acid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_4\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Non-essential fatty acids<\/h2>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_4\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Non-essential fatty acids are synthesized by the human body.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_5\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Essential fatty acids<\/h2>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_5\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These fatty acids can not be produced by the human body, since we don\u2019t have the necessary enzymes. We must acquire them from our food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-green-cyan-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The synthesis of the unsaturated fatty acids<\/strong> is done by\u00a0<strong>DESATURASES<\/strong> enzymes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A variety of polyunsaturated fatty acids are synthesised using desaturases, which <strong>are capable of creating double bonds at positions 4, 5, or 6<\/strong>. These enzymes act only in the synthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids because they can use substrates with a double bond at location 9. <em>(Fish meat and fat is rich in those essential fatty acids, especially omega 3.<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_6\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">References<\/h2>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_6\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">S<span style=\"font-size: revert; color: initial;\">nider MDS. Devlin\u2019s <strong>Textbook of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations<\/strong>, the 8th Edition. John Wiley &amp; Sons, Incorporated, 2020; 2019.<\/span>  <\/p>\n<\/span><div id=\"the_titles\" style=\"display:none;\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">General information about fatty acids<\/h3><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Saturated fatty acids<\/h2><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unsaturated fatty acids<\/h2><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Non-essential fatty acids<\/h2><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Essential fatty acids<\/h2><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h2><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General information about fatty acids Saturated fatty acids Saturated fatty acids are the simplest ones \u2014 in which all the fatty acid chains have single bonds. Several foods contain a significant proportion of saturated fatty acids; for example animal products such as cream, cheese, butter, milk dairy products and fatty meats. There are also vegetable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1712,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1838","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Types of Fatty Acids &#8211; Meddists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/biochemistry\/biochemistry-of-the-metabolism\/lipid-metabolism\/types-of-fatty-acids\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/biochemistry\\\/biochemistry-of-the-metabolism\\\/lipid-metabolism\\\/types-of-fatty-acids\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/biochemistry\\\/biochemistry-of-the-metabolism\\\/lipid-metabolism\\\/types-of-fatty-acids\\\/\",\"name\":\"Types of Fatty Acids &#8211; 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