Lesson:

▪ Lipids
▪ Structure and Properties of Triglycerides
▪ Structure of Complex Lipids
▪ Role of Lipids in the Structure Membranes
▪ Glycerophospholipids

Lipids ▪ Sphingolipids
▪ Glycolipids
▪ Steroids
Prepared by: Mikaela Marie G. Santos, LPT
▪ Physiological Roles of Steroid Hormones
▪ Bile Salts
▪ Prostaglandins, Thromboxanes, and Leukotrienes

Lipids A. Classification by Function

▪ Family of substances that are insoluble in water but soluble in ▪ Three major roles of lipids in
nonpolar solvents and solvents with low polarity. Human Biochemistry:
– They store energy within fat cells
▪ Unlike carbohydrates, we define lipids in terms of a property and not – They are parts of membranes that
in terms of their structure. separate compartments of
aqueous solutions from each
other.
– They serve as chemical
messengers.
▪ Storage
– Hydrophobic
▪ Messengers
– Deliver signals from one part of
the body to another part. (Steroid)
– Mediate the hormonal response
(prostaglandins and thromboxane)

B. Classification by structure Structure of triglycerides

▪ Classification of Lipids in Four ▪ Triglycerides – triesters of ▪ Fatty acids are practically all
Groups: glycerol and a long chain of unbranched chain of carboxylic
carboxylic acids called fatty acids.
1. Simple Lipids such as acids.
triglycerides (fats and oils) ▪ 10 – 20 carbons
and waxes
▪ They contain even number of
2. Complex lipids carbon atoms
3. Steroids ▪ No other functional groups than –
COOH
4. Prostaglandins,
Thromboxane, and ▪ Cis configuration dominates in
leukotrienes fatty acids with double bonds
Properties of Triglycerides
A. Physical State
Fats – mixtures of triglycerides
containing high proportion of
long-chain, saturated fatty acids.
Oils – mixtures of triglycerides
containing high proportion of
long-chain, unsaturated fatty
acids.
Pure fats and oils are colorless,
odorless and tasteless.
Properties of Triglycerides
C. Saponification
Base promoted hydrolysis of fats
and oils producing glycerol and a
mixture of fatty acid salts called
soaps.
Soap – has been used for
thousands of years and
saponification is one of the oldest
known chemical reaction.
Lipids in Membranes: A. The Fluid
Mosaic Model of Membrane Structure
▪ Lipid Bilayers - is a
biological membrane consisting
of two layers of lipid molecules
- contains a hydrophilic head
and a hydrophobic tail
Cholesterol – another membrane
component, is largely hydrophobic
but does contain small polar
portion.
Properties of Triglycerides
B. Hydrogenation Diet with large amount of trans
fat tend to lead to a high level of
Addition of hydrogen; breaking serum cholesterol and higher
the double bonds of the fatty ratio of low-density lipoprotein
acids. (LDL) to High-density lipoprotein
Fats with no double bonds is too (HDL), which are well known risk
solid. (Margarine manufacture) factor for the development of
heart disease.
Trans fat are not “generally
recognized as safe.
Structures of Complex Lipids
▪ Constitutes the main
components of the membrane.
▪ Classification:
1. Phospholipids – contain
alcohol, two fatty acids and a
phosphate group
1. Glycerophospholipids – alcohol is
glycerol
2. Sphingolipids – alcohol is
sphingosine
2. Glycolipids – complex lipids
that contains carbohydrates.
Lipids in Membranes: B. Transport
Across Cell Membranes
▪ Passive Transport – Allows
neighboring cells to
communicate.
▪ Active Transport – involves the
passage of ions through a
concentration gradient
Glycerophospholipids

▪ Also called phosphoglycerides.

▪ Membrane components of cells
throughout the body.
▪ Alcohol is glycerol (two of its
three hydroxyl groups are
esterified by fatty acids)

Glycolipids

▪ Complex lipids that contain

carbohydrates and ceramides.
▪ Cerebrosides, consist of mono-
or oligosaccharides
▪ Gangliosides, contains more
complex carbohydrate
structure.

Steroids Steroids

B. Lipoproteins: Carriers of ▪ High-density Lipoprotein (HDL) “Good C. Transport Cholesterol in LDL

Cholesterol
Spherically shaped clusters
containing both lipid molecules
and protein molecules.
Cholesterol” – 33% of protein and 30%
cholesterol and cholesteryl esters.
▪ Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL) “Bad
Cholesterol” – 25% of protein but 50%
of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters.
VLDL to LDL
If the LDL receptors are not sufficient
in number, cholesterol accumulates
in the blood.

▪ Very-low-density Lipoprotein (VLDL) This accumulation can happen even

carries triglycerides (fats) in the liver
▪ Chylomicrons – which carry dietary
lipids synthesized in the intestines.
with low intake of dietary cholesterol.
Both genetics and diet play a role in
determining cholesterol from the
blood stream.
 Steroids
D. Transport of Cholesterol in
HDL
It is desirable to have a high level
of HDL in the blood because of
the way it removes the
cholesterol from the blood
stream.
Steroids
E. Levels of LDL and HDL
Familial hypercholesterolemia – the
cholesterol level in the blood may be as
high as 680 mg/ 100 mL, compared to
175 mg/100 mL in normal subjects.
This can lead to premature
atherosclerosis
Premenopausal women have more
HDL than men, which is why women
have lower risk of coronary heart
disease.
Physiological Roles of Steroid Hormones
▪ Cholesterol is the starting material for the synthesis of steroid hormones.
▪ The aliphatic side chain on the D ring is shortened by the removal of a six-
carbon unit and the secondary alcohol group on carbon 3 is oxidized to a
ketone.
Diets low in saturated fatty acids usually
reduce the serum cholesterol level.
When the serum cholesterol is low,
synthesis of cholesterol is increasing.
Dugs that inhibit the synthesis of
cholesterol:
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
Simvastatin (Zocor)
Steroids
E. Levels of LDL and HDL
Atherosclerosis - is a disease in
which plaque builds up inside
your arteries.
Atherosclerosis together with
high blood pressure, may lead to
heart attack, stroke or kidney
dysfunction.
Steroids
F. Membrane Cholesterol Function
Myeloproliferative disease – based on
a patient having an over abundance of
certain immune cell types, leukemia.
Showed the link between membrane
cholesterol and cell receptor function.
Link between myeloproliferative
diseases and cholesterol removal
could offer doctors another weapon
against this disease.
A. Adrenocorticoid Hormones
▪ Products of adrenal glands. ▪ Aldosterone – most important
mineralocorticoid
▪ Adrenal means “adjacent to
renal” (renal = kidney) - controls tissue swelling.
Hormones: (Corticoid = site of ▪ Cortisol – major glucocorticoids
secretion is in the cortex of the
gland) - it increase the glucose and
glycogen concentration of the
1. Mineralocorticoids – Regulate body.
the concentration of ions.
(Mainly Na+ and K+) - cortisol and its ketone
cortisone have remarkable anti
2. Glucocorticoids – control inflammatory effects.
carbohydrate metabolism
B. Sex Hormones
▪ Testosterone – most important
male sex hormones.
- Promotes normal growth of
male genital organs
- synthesized in the testes
from cholesterol.
- During puberty the level of
testosterone is increasing, leads
to male sexual characteristics.
Anabolic Steroid
Testosterone – used to
increase muscles.
Anabolic steroid is not very
effective when taken orally
and is injected to achieve best
result.
Bile Salts
▪ Oxidation products of
cholesterol
▪ Powerful detergents
▪ Bile salts can disperse dietary
lipids in the small intestine into
fine emulsions, thereby
facilitating digestion.
▪ Soap:Dirt
▪ Estradiol – synthesized from
testosterone by aromatization
of a ring.
- together with progesterone,
regulates the cyclic changes
occurring in the uterus and
ovaries, menstrual cycle
▪ Luteinizing hormone (LH)
triggers ovulation
▪ Bile salts remove excess
cholesterol in two ways:
1. They breakdown products of
cholesterol.
2. They solubilize deposited
cholesterol in the form of
bile-salt cholesterol particles.
B. Sex Hormones
▪ Mifepristone – drug widely used in
France and china that act as
competitor of progesterone.
- A.K.A. “Morning after pill”
Estradiol and Progesterone also
regulate secondary female sex
characteristics.
Both male and female have a distinct
amount of testosterone and estradiol
in the body (Hormonal balance).
Oral Contraception
Progesterone like compounds
is used for birth control since,
it prevents ovulation
Prostaglandins
▪ a group of fatty acid like ▪ Our body produces
substances. prostaglandins in response
with inflammation.
▪ Synthesized in the body from
arachidonic acid by a ring ▪ Aspirin a nonsteroidal anti
closure between carbon 8 and inflammatory drug inhibit both
12. COX enzymes.
▪ To catalyze this reactions we
need cyclooxygenase
▪ Used to treat asthma. Relaxing
the surrounding muscles of the
bronchial tubes.
Thromboxane
▪ Known to reduce platelet
aggregation.
▪ Causes other platelet to clump,
thereby increasing the size of
the blood clot.
▪ Aspirin and similar anti
inflammatory agents inhibits
COX enzymes including
thromboxane. (Blood clotting
is impaired)
Anti-inflammatory Drugs
Aspirin, Ibuprofen,
ketoprofen, domethacin.
End of Discussion !! 
▪ Please answer your Discussion
Question 5.
▪ Laboratory activities
▪ Don’t be irritated today.
▪ This effect has prompted
physicians to recommend daily
dose of aspirin for people at
risk for heart attack and stroke.
It also explains why physicians
forbid patients to take aspirin
week before a planned surgery.
▪ Aspirin and other anti
inflammatory drugs mar cause
excessive bleeding.
Leukotrienes
▪ Another group of substances that ▪ Both prostaglandins and leukotrienes
act to mediate hormonal responses. cause inflammation and fever.
▪ It has no ring closure, unlike the first
two.
▪ Occur mainly in white blood cells
(leukocytes), but also found in other
tissues of the body.
▪ They produce long lasting muscle
contractions and 100x more potent
than histamines.
Eating Salmons
High in unsaturated fatty
acids.