LIPIDS

 Role of Lipids

LIPIDS
 plant and animal materials insoluble in water but are soluble in organic substances such as ether, chloroform
and benzene
 in proximate analysis, lipid content of feeds is measured by extraction of ether, thus, it is termed as ether
extract (Soxhlet apparatus)
 in animals, lipids are the major form of energy storage, mainly as fat which may constitute up to 97% of
adipose tissue in obese animals
 high energy mats., gives 2.25 times more energy than CHO and CHON
 principal lipids in animal nutrition are fats and oils
 FATS are usually of animal origin (lard and tallow), whereas OILS are from plants (vegetable oil) and marine
mammals (cod liver oil)

Classification of Lipids
Saponifiable Non-saponifiable
Simple Compound
Terpenes
Fats Glycolipids Steroids
Waxes Phospholipids Prostaglandins
 Lipid Classes
1. Simple fatty acids
- saturated
- unsaturated
2. Mono, di- and triglyceride
3. Glycerolphospholipids
(phosphoglycerides)
e.g. lecithin (phosphatidylcholine)
4. Sphingolipids
5. Steroids
6. Prostaglandins
7. Lipid Vitamins
• In fatty acids, either single or double bonds
can exist between adjacent carbons
- Saturated FA: contains only single bonds (e.g.
palmitic acid)
- Unsaturated FA: contains some double bonds
(e.g. linolenic acid)
 Saturated fats
• All C bonded to H
• No C=C double bonds
– long, straight chain
– most animal fats
– solid at room temp.
• contributes to
cardiovascular disease
(atherosclerosis)
= plaque deposits
 Unsaturated fats
• C=C double bonds in
the fatty acids
– plant & fish fats
– vegetable oils
– liquid at room temperature
• the kinks made by double
bonded C prevent the
molecules from packing
tightly together
 Unsaturated
Fatty Acid

Saturated
Fatty Acid
Fatty Acids Commonly Found in Lipids
Fatty Acids Empirical Formula Melting Point ºC
Saturated
Butyric (butanoic) C4H8O2 - 4.3
Caproic (hexanoic) C6H12O2 -2
Caprylic (ocatanoic) C8H16O2 16.5
Capric (decanoic) C10H20O2 31.4
Lauric (dodecanoic) C12H24O2 44
Myristic (tetradecanoic) C14H28O2 58
Palmitic (hexadecanoic) C16H32O2 63
Stearic (octadecanoic) C18H36O2 71.5
Unsaturated
Palmitoleic (hexadecenoic) C16H30O2 1.5
Oleic (octadecenoic) C18H34O2 16.3
Linoleic (octadecadienoic) C18H32O2 - 5.0
Linolenic (octadecatrienoic) C18H30O2 - 11.3
Arachidonic C20H32O2 - 49.5
(eicosatetraenoic)
 Fatty Acid
Structure

•Carboxyl group (COOH) forms the acid.

•“R” group is a hydrocarbon chain.
•Composed of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen
• Fatty acids play several important roles:

– Building blocks for phospholipids and glycolipids.

These amphipathic molecules are important
components of biological membranes

– High energy source of fuel

– Fatty acid derivatives are used as hormones (e.g.

steroidal hormones) and intracellular messengers

• Anchors for membrane proteins (covalently attached

fatty acids, prenyl groups, and phosphatidylinositol)

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• Fatty acids play several important roles:

– Building blocks for phospholipids and glycolipids.

These amphipathic molecules are important
components of biological membranes

– High energy source of fuel

– Fatty acid derivatives are used as hormones (e.g.

steroidal hormones) and intracellular messengers

• Anchors for membrane proteins (covalently attached

fatty acids, prenyl groups, and phosphatidylinositol)

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Steroidal hormones
 Phospholipids visceral

Structure:
glycerol + 2 fatty acids + PO4
PO4 negatively charged
• Specialized lipids serve as pigments (retinal,
carotene)
• cofactors (vitamin K)
• detergents (bile salts e.g. taurocholic acid)
• transporters (dolichols)
• hormones (vitamin D derivatives, sex
hormones)
• extracellular and intracellular messengers
(eicosanoids, phosphatidylinositol derivatives)
• body thermal insulation
 Functions of lipids in the body:
Protection of vital organs
heat insulator
Carrier of fat soluble Vitamins
Condensed reserve form of energy
To produce high nutrient density feeds
Reduce dustiness and improves feed
texture
Fat Bears Carry Out Oxidation in
Their Sleep
 grizzly bears use body
fat as their sole fuel -
remain in a continuous
state of dormancy for
periods
as long as seven months
 Fat oxidation yields
sufficient energy for
maintenance of body
temperature, active
synthesis of amino acids
and proteins, and other
energy-requiring
activities, such as
membrane transport.
FATS
 contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with more C and H in proportion to the O than do
carbohydrates

 fats contain 2.25 times as much energy per lb or kg as do carbohydrates

 the yield of energy from the complete oxidation of fat is about 39MJ/kg dry matter(DM)
compared with about 17MJ/kg DM from glycogen, the major carbohydrate form of energy
storage

 they are formed by the combination of 3 fatty acids with glycerol:

3 fatty acid + glycerol neutral fat + water
Triglycerides
TAGs account for 98% of fats in feed and over 90% of fat in the body

 Oils are actually fats and differ from fats only in melting point. Oils have low melting points
(MP) and tend to be liquid at room temperature.
 TEST USED TO CHARACTERIZE FATS
1. Saponification Value- characterize fatty acid composing fat in terms of chain length
2. Iodine number- measures the degree of unsaturation of a fatty acid
3. Melting or solidifying point
4. Reichert- Meissl number- determine amount of VFA’s or SCFA
5. Proximate Analysis- Ether Extract

FAT RANCIDITY…

1. Oxidative Rancidity
2. Hydrolytic rancidity

* Hydrogenation
WAXES

 lipids resulting from the combination of fatty acids and higher monohydroxy and dihydroxy alcohols

 they have high MP and are not readily digested by animals

Compound Lipids

 Phospholipids
- consist of glycerol esterified with long-chain fatty acids, phosphoric acid and a nitrogen base
- they are components of animal cell membranes and of the lipid transport moieties in the plasma
- they are also essential for proper digestion and absorption of fats
 Sphingolipids
- do not contain glycerol but consist of the amino alcohol sphingosine to which it is added as a fatty
acid , phosphate and either choline or ethanolamine
- In animals, they are found predominantly in brain and the nerve tissue and are called
“sphingomyelin”

 Glycolipids
- contain glycerol together with 2 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)

Prostaglandins
- synthesized by nearly all mammalian tissues from arachidonic acid (amino acid from linoleic acid)
- involved in lipolysis of adipose tissues and reaction s in the reproductive process

Steroids
- large group of compounds in plants and animals, which include sterols, cholesterol, ergosterol, bile
acids, adrenal and sex hormones
- Cholesterol is a structural component of cells. It is synthesized in the liver and serves as the
precursor of most of these steroids
- Ergosterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol are plant and animal precursor of Vitamin D, respectively.
- Bile acids are derivatives of cholesterol synthesized in the liver (either stored in gall bladder to be
released after eating, or released continuously for animals without gallbladder and aid in the
emulsification of fats in the small intestine)
• Digestion, Mobilization, and Transport of Fats
Processing of Dietary Lipids
Cells can obtain fatty acid fuels from three
sources:
• Fats consumed in the diet
• fats stored in cells as lipid droplets
• fats synthesized in one organ for export to
another
 LIPID DIGESTION
• With peristaltic action of the stomach and the duodenum, fat
exists in the duodenum as a coarse emulsion. In the presence
of bile and pancreatic lipase, triglycerides are hydrolyzed into
fatty acids and monoglycerides.
• The bile, fatty acids and monoglycerides become oriented into
a mixed micelle.
• Micelle migrates to the brush border of the small intestine
where it is disrupted. All but the bile is absorbed into the
mucosa.
• Within the mucosa, the fatty acids and monoglycerides are
resynthesized into triglycerides, combined with protein,
(“encased” in a thin layer of protein) and secreted into the
central lacteal of the villus as a lipoprotein called
“chylomicron” and is carried to the adipose tissue for storage.
 1.1 Pancreatic Lipases
Bile salts, which act as
detergents, are used to
solubilize the
triacylglycerols
Pancreatic lipases hydrolyze
the ester bonds of the
triacylglycerols while in the
micelles.

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 1.1 Chylomicrons
• In the intestinal mucosal cells, the fatty acids and
monoacylglycerides are resynthesized into
triacylglycerides and packaged into chylomicrons.
Chylomicrons and lymph are dumped via the
thoracic duct into the left subclavian vein

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 1.1 Chylomicrons
Chylomicrons and
lymph are dumped
via the thoracic
duct into the left
subclavian vein.

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 Dietary Fats Are Absorbed in the Small
Intestine

• Triacylglycerols must be converted from

insoluble macroscopic fat particles to finely
dispersed microscopic micelle
• carried out by bile salts, such as taurocholic
acid
• packaged with dietary cholesterol and specific
proteins into lipoprotein aggregates
- chylomicrons
Triacylglycerol and Cholesterol Transport
 Plants and marine oils are more highly unsaturated than those of mammalian origin due to the
presence of varying amounts of linoleic and linolenic acids, in addition to oleic, which is quantitatively
the major fatty acid in most natural fats.

 Oils of mammalian origin have low proportion of unsaturated acids and high molecular weight saturated
acids like palmitic and stearic acid.
- Lard beef and mutton are firm and hard, whereas, fish and plant oils are softer and frequently oil in
true sense.

Essential fatty acids are linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acid. However, only both linoleic and
linolenic are regarded as truly essential as they cannot be synthesized by the body. Arachidonic acid, on the
other hand, can be synthesized from linoleic acid, thus, not strictly essential.

Functions:
1. Form part of various membranes, play a part in lipid transport and certain lipoprotein enzymes.
2. As source materials for synthesis of prostaglandins, prostacyclins and thromboxanes.
The need for supply of the acids arises from the inability of mammals to produce double bonds
between C9 and terminal methyl groups of the fatty acid chain.

They are required in the diets of pigs, chicks, calves and goats.
- Chicks of low fat diets have shown poor growth rate, poor feathering, edema and high
mortality in the first few weeks of life.
- In other species, mainly poor skin conditions.

- Found in oils seeds (rich in linoleic acid and linseed (linolenic acid), which are found in
considerable quantities in poultry and swine diets.

Ruminants are largely dependent on grass for nutritional needs and are therefore, supplied with
considerable quantities of linoleic and linolenic acid. Although they are hydrogenated to stearic acid
in the rumen, reducing available essential fatty acid (EFA), they are able to conserve their dietary
supply efficiently, so EFA deficiency is remote.

Excessive unsaturated fatty acids (UFA’s) may increase thickness and softness of backfat in pigs,
induce Vit. E shortage and cause muscular dystrophy