The fatty acids, the simplest of the lipids, are defined as monocarboxylic acids that tend to be more soluble in organic solvents than in water. They are a hydrocarbon with a methyl group at one end and carboxyl group at the other.
Some naturally occurring saturated fatty acids:
Butyric
Caproic
Caprylic
Capric
Lauric
Myristic
Palmitic
Stearic
Arachidic
Behedic
Lignoceric
The human body needs fatty acids and it can make all but two of them –linoleic acid (the 18-carbon omega-6 fatty acid) and linolenic acid (the 18 carbon omega-3 fatty acid).
Fatty acids are classified according to the number of double bonds they possess. It can be saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated and are essential for energetic, metabolic and structural activities.
Some naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids:
Monoenoic: Palmitoleic, Oleic
Dienoic: Linoleic
Trienoic: Linolenic
Tetraenoic: Arachidonic
Palmitic acid and stearic acid are by far the most commonly occurring and widely distributed of the saturated fatty acids whereas oleic acid and linolenic acid are the most prevalent of the unsaturated.
These four fatty acids account for over 90% of the fatty acids in the average American diet. Fatty acids of shorter chain length are for the most part minor constituents of plants and animal fats.
However, butyric acid and myristic acid occur in milk fat in large amounts and about 60% of the fatty acid in coconut oil consists of lauric acid and fatty acids of shorter chain length.
Highly unsaturated fatty acids are essential for cellular functions of many differentiated tissues in humans of all ages.
They are mostly incorporated in membrane phospholipids and serve as a structural component of the phospholipid membranes in tissues throughout the body.
Fatty acids – the simplest of lipids
