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Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing energy, signaling, and acting as structural components of cell membranes.
Neutral fats, also known as true fats, are simple lipids that are produced by the dehydration synthesis of one or more fatty acids with an alcohol like glycerol. Neutral fats are also known as triacylglycerols, [1] these lipids are dense as well as hydrophobic due to their long carbon chain and are there main function is to store energy ...
Membrane lipids are a group of compounds (structurally similar to fats and oils) which form the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The three major classes of membrane lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and cholesterol. Lipids are amphiphilic: they have one end that is soluble in water ('polar') and an ending that is soluble in fat ...
Vertebrates (including humans) use both sources of fat to produce energy for organs such as the heart to function. [6] Since lipids are hydrophobic molecules, they need to be solubilized before their metabolism can begin. Lipid metabolism often begins with hydrolysis, [7] which occurs with the help of various enzymes in the digestive system. [2]
The surface of a curved lipid bilayer. Lipidology is the scientific study of lipids. Lipids are a group of biological macromolecules that have a multitude of functions in the body. [1] [2] [3] Clinical studies on lipid metabolism in the body have led to developments in therapeutic lipidology for disorders such as cardiovascular disease. [4]
The structure of this lipid differs in plants and animals, regarding fatty acid composition. In addition, phosphatidylserine plays an important role in the human brain content, as it makes up 13–15% of the phospholipids in the human cerebral cortex. This lipid is found in a wide range of places.
A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly whose primary function is to transport hydrophobic lipid (also known as fat) molecules in water, as in blood plasma or other extracellular fluids. They consist of a triglyceride and cholesterol center, surrounded by a phospholipid outer shell, with the hydrophilic portions oriented outward toward the ...
[2] [3] The most familiar type of animal sterol is cholesterol, which is vital to the structure of the cell membrane, and functions as a precursor to fat-soluble vitamins and steroid hormones. While technically alcohols, sterols are classified by biochemists as lipids (fats in the broader sense of the term).