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Triglycerides BIOLOGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got to do a 10 mark exam question tommorow.

Anyone got any information on the use of them in the human body and in other orgasnism. Would be much appeciated.
Reply 1
Avatar for andrew.awad
andrew.awad
provide a lot of energy 38 kJ/mol
non-polar therefore not soluble in water
when oxidized produce twice as much water as carbohydrates this water is called metabolic water, this water is used by camels
they serve as insulators
in synthesis of steroids
H
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H-C-OH
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H-C-OH
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H-C-OH
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H
Triglycerides are made from a combination of glycerol and three fatty acid tails. The fatty acid tails are hydrophobic (don't mix well with water) making them non-polar.

The head of the triglyceride is made from a carboxyl group, which forms estar bonds with the 'COOH' group of the fatty acid tails, through the process of condensation, where a molecule of water is removed for each tail i.e. three molecules of water are removed.
Reply 3
Avatar for Excalibur
Excalibur
15
Heh, I'm sure if you research properly on the net/decent textbook it would tell you all this, but for my revision anyway:

Structure:

* 1 glycerol molecule bonded to 3 fatty acids, linked by an ester bond (esterification - a reaction between a carboxylic acid and a triol/condensation reaction - producing water)
* If the fatty acid chain has double bonds, the melting points are lower so are usually liquid, i.e. oils.
* If the chain has no double bonds, the fat is saturated and is usually solid (as the molecule can pack in more tightly so melting points increase), i.e. fats and waxes.
* Suspended as lipid droplets in cells as they are non-polar and not soluble in water.

Functions:

* Insulation
* Mechanical protection, e.g. adipose tissue around vital organs
* Electrical insulation, i.e. the myelin sheath around neuron axons, which increase speed of transmission
* Energy - x2 as much energy as polysaccharides - the water produced can be stored as metabolic water in desert animals
* Buoyancy as low density
* Waterproofing - e.g. oils on feathers of ducks, waxy cuticle layer on a leaf
* Used in the synthesis of steroids and hormones
* Phospholipids - one of the fatty acid chains are replaced by a phosphate group, which is negatively charged. This creates a phosphate 'head' that is hydrophilic and a fatty acid 'tail' that is hydrophobic. Thus, when in water or in cells, they align themselves such that the heads face outwards and the tails face inwards, forming round micelles or form a bilayer, as in the cell surface membrane. The cell membrane then serves as a selective barrier and do not allow large or polar molecules through..... etc.


HTH.

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