FOOD LIPIDS

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Chemical Composition
2.1. Fatty Acids
2.2. Triacylglycerols, Phospholipids, Glycolipids,
Lipoproteins
2.3. Minor Lipids
3. Lipid sources
3.1. Lipid Sources of Plant Origin
3.2. Lipid Sources of Animal Origin
4. Lipid Processing
4.1. Lipid Extraction and Refining
4.2. Lipid Modification
4.2.1. Lipid Hydrolysis
4.2.2. Emulsification
4.2.3. Hydrogenation
4.2.4. Oxidation
4.2.5. Fractionation
4.2.6. Transesterification 1
5. Lipids in Human Nutrition
5.1. Digestion, Absorption, and Metabolism
5.2. Biological Function of Lipids
5.2.1. Energy
5.2.2. Essential and Other Important Fatty Acids
5.2.3. Structural Components
5.2.4. Regulatory Functions
5.3. Recommended Fat Intake
5.4. Lipids and Health Problems
5.4.1. Lipids and Cardiovascular Diseases
5.4.2. Lipids and Cancer
5.4.3. Lipids and Obesity
6. Edible Lipid Foods
6.1. Edible Lipid Foods of Plant Origin
6.1.1. Vegetable oils 6.1.2. Edible Spread Fats
6.1.3. Shortenings (Cooking Fats) 6.1.4. Frying Oils
6.1.5. Mayonnaise
6.2. Edible Lipid Foods of Animal Origin
6.2.1. Butter
6.2.2. Lard and Tallow
6.3. Fat Replacers
7. Future Trends
8. Glossary 2
Classification of Lipids

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lipid structure

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Micelles
When a soap is dissolved in water,
fatty acids in the soap form
spherical structures called
micelles, in which the hydrophilic
“heads” of the fatty acid
molecules are turned toward the
water and the hydrophobic “tails”
are sheltered in the interior.

An example of micelles in polar solvent 6

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Summary
• Lipids are compounds of fatty acids
with glycerol, sometimes also with
other substances.
• present in animal or plant tissues, and
obtained in the industry by heating in
case of animal fats, or by expeller
pressing and solvent extraction in case
of plant raw materials.
• Natural lipids are solid fats or liquid
oils, consisting mostly of
triacylglycerols, and accompanied by
polar lipids and lipophilic minor
substances.
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• Lipids may be modified by different procedures,
such as refining, fractionation, emulsification,
hydrogenation, and are deteriorated by oxidation
reactions.
• Lipids belong to main nutrients, are
indispensable in the nutrition.
• They are the most important source of energy;
they contain essential fatty acids, sterols, and
lipophilic vitamins.
• Lipids are raw materials for many edible lipid
products, such as table or frying oils, margarines,
mayonnaise, and shortenings.
• The intake of lipids and their fatty acid
composition have great impact on human health.
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Fatty Acids

• Fatty acids (FA) are carboxylic acids with long aliphatic chains
which may be straight or branched, saturated or unsaturated

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Chemical Composition
Fatty Acids
• important component of lipids (in plants,
animals, and microorganisms.
• consists of a straight chain of an even number
of C atoms, with H atoms along the length of the
chain and at one end of the chain and a carboxyl
group (―COOH) at the other end.
• It is that carboxyl group that makes it an acid
(carboxylic acid)
• There are fatty acids with 2-30 C-atoms or more, but
the most common and important ones have 12-22 C
atoms and are found in many different animal and
plant fats.
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Glycerol

Triglycerides

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Triglycerides
• What type of structure are triglycerides?

v Triglycerides are triesters

consisting of a glycerol bound
to three fatty acid molecules.
v Alcohols have a hydroxyl (HO–
) group. Organic acids have a
carboxyl (–COOH) group.

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Fatty Acids are rarely found free in
nature and are the primary
constituents of:

•Triacylglycerols (or triglycerides);

•Diacylglycerols;
•Monoacylglycerols (the last two
families of compounds are often
added to processed foods);
•Phospholipids of cell membranes;
•Sterol esters.

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Phospholipids
• Phospholipids are a class of lipids whose
molecule has a hydrophilic "head"
containing a phosphate group and
two hydrophobic "tails" derived
from fatty acids, joined by
an alcohol residue (usually
a glycerol molecule).

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 Sterols
• Sterols are ringed lipids that play a role
in the membrane integrity of eukaryotes.
• The vertebrate brain is the most
cholesterol-rich organ, containing
roughly 25% of the total free cholesterol
present in the whole body. Its
fundamental carbon structure is a
cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene ring
(also called sterane).

Sterols that have UV absorbance can be detected at 254 nm (providing

that TLC separation is performed on a layer with a fluorescent indicator).

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Classification of Fatty Acids
1. They are classified into three types based on their degree of
saturation/unsaturation in the carbon chain:
•If there is no double bond, the fatty acid is saturated.
•If there is one double bond, the fatty acid is
monounsaturated,
•If there are two or more double bonds, the fatty acid is
polyunsaturated.

2. Furthermore, they can be divided into two broad classes based on

the presence or absence of double/triple bonds:
•If there are no double bonds in the carbon chain, it is saturated.
•If there are one or more double bonds in the carbon chain, it is
unsaturated.
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Saturated Fatty Acids -
if the C-C bonds are all
single.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

- if any of the bonds is
double or triple, and is
more reactive.

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Saturated Fatty Acid Structure

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Saturated Fats
• There are almost 24 types of
saturated fats though not all of
them are bad for health.
• These fats are normally found
in whole milk, cheese and
several other dairy products
followed by beef. Even a few
vegetable oils like palm and
coconut oil has saturated fats.

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Trans Fat
• These types of fats are generally found in
meat although their main source is
packaged foods like cookies, breads,
crackers and cakes.
• Fast foods are their base.
• Trans-fats were processed artificially in
order to offer cheap alternatives to the
consumers.
• Some food experts found that vegetable
oil is solidified to create an alternative to
butter such as margarine. This in turn
converted a good fat into a saturated one.

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Facts about Trans Fat
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
trans-fatty acids that are produced industrially are
contained in hardened vegetable fats like margarine
and ghee, also in snack food, baked foods, and fried
foods. These foods are used by manufacturers in large
quantities due to the longer shelf life than other fats.
• Trans fat is double trouble for the health of the heart. It
increases bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol
in the body.
• Trans fats are a type of dietary fat. Of all the fats it is
the worst for health. In the diet, too much trans fat
increases the risk of heart diseases and other health
problems.
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3. They are
classified as
follows based on
their ability or
inability to be
synthesized by
animals, and whose
deficiency can be
reversed by dietary
addition:
•Essential fatty
acids
•Not essential
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ESSENTIAL
FATTY ACIDS

• The body can’t make it.

• Needed for immune
function, vision, cell
membrane and
production of hormone
like compounds

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4. They can be functionally
classified as follows:
•Short-chain fatty acids: up
to 6 carbon atoms
•Medium-chain fatty acids: 8
to 12 carbon atoms.
•Long-chain fatty acids: 14 to
18 carbon atoms
•Very long-chain fatty acids:
20 carbon atoms and up.

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5. Other fatty acids

•Oxygenated fatty acids- They

have hydroxyl, keto, and epoxy
groups; ricinoleic acid, the
main fatty acid in castor oil, is
an example.
•Cyclic fatty acids- They have a
cyclic unit with three, five, or
even six carbon atoms, similar
to prostaglandins.

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Properties of Fatty Acids
• Fatty acids undergo the same reactions as other carboxylic acids, such as
esterification and acid-base reactions.
• The acidities of fatty acids do not vary greatly, as indicated by their pKa
values.
• The solubility of fatty acids in water decreases as chain length increases
so that longer-chain fatty acids have little effect on the pH of an aqueous
solution.
• Fatty acids exist at their conjugate bases, such as oleate, near neutral pH.
• Auto-oxidation occurs when unsaturated fatty acids undergo a chemical
change. The presence of trace metals speeds up the process, which
requires oxygen (air).
• Ozonolysis- Ozone is capable of degrading unsaturated fatty acids. This
reaction is used in the synthesis of azelaic acid from oleic acid.

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Uses of Fatty Acids

• They are used in the production of many food products.

• In the production of soaps, detergents, and cosmetics.
• Soaps are fatty acid sodium and potassium salts. Some skin-care
products contain fatty acids, which can help maintain the
appearance and function of healthy skin.
• Dietary supplements containing fatty acids, particularly omega-3
fatty acids, are also widely available.
• Fatty acids are also converted to fatty alcohols and fatty amines via
their methyl esters, which are factors in the development of
surfactants, detergents, and lubricants.
• Emulsifiers, texturizing agents, wetting agents, anti-foam agents, and
stabilising agents are all examples of fatty acids.

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Eat Fat to Beat Fat?

Fats are generally categorized under

a) fat that is bad for the health such

as saturated fats and trans fats and
b) that is good for health such as
unsaturated fats.

Where the former develop heart

diseases by increasing LDL
cholesterol or triglycerides, the other
lowers LDL and prevents abnormal
heart beats and diseases.

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Bad Fat
• Saturated fats or trans fats have
one thing in common. Both
become solid at the room
temperature.
• bad fats come in liquid form too
such as whole milk and coconut
oil.
• These fats generally increase your
total cholesterol, further leading to
LDL cholesterol, which can cause
formation of blockages in your
coronary arteries. 46
• Artificial trans fats are created when hydrogen
is added to unsaturated liquid vegetable oils to
make them more solid. Food manufacturers use
partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) to improve
the texture, shelf life, and flavour of food.
• Artificial trans fats are found in fried foods,
commercial baked goods, processed foods, etc.
and naturally formed trans fats are found in
small quantities in meat, milk, and milk
products.
• Cutting trans fats may extend life.
• PHOs were discovered it was thought that
eating shortening or margarine made from
PHOs was preferable to butter as they didn't
contain saturated fat. Around the 1980s
researchers started uncovering the health
hazards that come from consuming PHOs.

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