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[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).
Although the term "lipid" is sometimes used as a synonym for fats, fats are a subgroup of lipids called triglycerides. Lipids also encompass molecules such as fatty acids and their derivatives (including tri-, di-, monoglycerides, and phospholipids), as well as other sterol -containing metabolites such as cholesterol . [ 6 ]
Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils. [3] [4]Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells [citation needed] and is an essential structural and signaling component of animal cell membranes.
Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers. The most common macromolecules in biochemistry are biopolymers ( nucleic acids , proteins , and carbohydrates ) and large non-polymeric molecules such as lipids , nanogels and macrocycles . [ 1 ]
Together with cholesterol and ceramides, free fatty acids form a water-impermeable barrier that prevents evaporative water loss. [38] Generally, the epidermal lipid matrix is composed of an equimolar mixture of ceramides (about 50% by weight), cholesterol (25%), and free fatty acids (15%). [38]
The second step in lipid metabolism is absorption of fats. Short chain fatty acids can be absorbed in the stomach, while most absorption of fats occurs only in the small intestines. Once the triglycerides are broken down into individual fatty acids and glycerols, along with cholesterol, they will aggregate into structures called micelles. Fatty ...
In biochemistry, lipogenesis is the conversion of fatty acids and glycerol into fats, or a metabolic process through which acetyl-CoA is converted to triglyceride for storage in fat. [1] Lipogenesis encompasses both fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis , with the latter being the process by which fatty acids are esterified to glycerol before ...
The liver is the central platform for the handling of lipids: it is able to store glycerols and fats in its cells, the hepatocytes. Hepatocytes are also able to create triglycerides via de novo synthesis. They also produce the bile from cholesterol. The intestines are responsible for absorbing cholesterol. They transfer it over into the blood ...