Lipids

• Lipids provide a major way of storing chemical energy and carbon atoms in the body.
• Lipids surround and insulate vital body organs.
• Lipids are basic components of cell membrane.
• Lipids serve as chemical messengers.
• There are five categories of lipids: triacylglycerols, phospholipids, sphingoglycolipids, and cholesterol, bile acids, steroid hormones and eicosanoids, biological waxes.
• Triacylglycerols, also known as triglycerides, are energy-storage lipids and are the most abundant type of lipid in the human body.
• Phospholipids, sphingoglycolipids, and cholesterol are membrane lipids.
• Bile acids, also known as Emulsification lipids, are used to emulsify fats in the intestine.
• Steroid hormones and eicosanoids function as messenger lipids.
• Biological waxes, also known as Protective-coating lipids, are used for protective coating.
• Fatty acid is a naturally occurring monocarboxylic acid.
• Fat is a triacylglycerol mixture that is a solid or a semi-solid at room temperature.
• Oil is a triacylglycerol mixture that is a liquid at room temperature.
• Phospholipid contains one or more fatty acids, a phosphate group, a platform molecule to which the fatty acid(s) and the phosphate are attached, and an alcohol that is attached to the phosphate group.
• Sphingoglycolipid contains both a fatty acid and a carbohydrate component attached to a sphigosine molecule.