What Is Fatty Acid Biosynthesis?

Fatty acids are a class of compounds composed of three elements: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They are the main components of neutral fats, phospholipids, and glycolipids. ^[1] Fatty acid refers to a long aliphatic hydrocarbon chain containing a carboxyl group at one end, which is an organic substance, and the general formula of a linear saturated fatty acid is C _n H _{(2n + 1)} COOH. ^[2] Fatty acids are generally colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and their relative densities are less than 1. ^{[3] The} lower fatty acid is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor, and the higher fatty acid is a waxy solid with no obvious odor. Fatty acid is the simplest kind of fat, it is a component of many more complex fats. Fatty acids can be oxidatively decomposed into CO ₂ and H ₂ O with sufficient oxygen supply, releasing a large amount of energy, so fatty acids are one of the main energy sources of the body. ^[2]

Fatty acids are a class of compounds composed of three elements: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They are the main components of neutral fats, phospholipids, and glycolipids. ^[2]

(1) Color and smell

Pure fatty acids are colorless, and some fatty acids have their own unique odor. ^[6]

There are some common laws in the molecular structure of natural fatty acids ^[3]

There are about 40 different fatty acids in nature, which are the key components of lipids. The physical properties of many lipids depend on the degree of saturation of the fatty acids and the length of the carbon chain, of which only an even number can be absorbed and utilized by the body

Fatty acids are often combined with other substances to form esters. Fatty acids in free form are rare in nature. ^[6]

Each class and each fatty acid has its specific use and functional characteristics. Functional fatty acids refer to those derived from human dietary fats, which are necessary for human nutrition and health, and are responsible for some of the corresponding deficiencies and endogenous diseases of the human body that have been discovered, especially for modern civilized diseases such as hypertension and heart A group of fatty acids with active prevention and treatment effects such as diseases, cancer, diabetes, etc., which are mainly polyunsaturated fatty acids which have received much attention and are widely studied. ^[13]

There are 9 calories per gram of vegetable and animal fats. However, vegetable oils contain fat-degrading substances, and moderate intake is beneficial, but it does not mean that their calories are low. Most people think that vegetable oils are safe and can be eaten more. This is a wrong concept. Not only people who lose weight must limit their intake to vegetable oils, so as not to be detrimental to weight loss. People who want to have a long and healthy life should do so. ^[14]

Types and contents of fatty acids in different oils

There are three types of fatty acids that people need: polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and saturated fatty acids. Our commonly used cooking oils usually contain the three fatty acids that the body needs. ^[14]

The daily fat intake of each person can only account for 20% of the total daily calories of the food. (The daily oil consumption is controlled to 15 to 30 milliliters.) Each person must eat all three fatty acids every day, and cannot prefer any oil. Otherwise, imbalance in oil intake will cause disease. The daily intake of monounsaturated fatty acids is 10%, polyunsaturated fatty acids are 10%, and saturated fatty acids are less than 10%. ^[14]

Animal oil, coconut oil and palm oil are mainly composed of saturated fatty acids, while polyunsaturated fatty acids are low in content. ^[14]

Olive oil, nut oil (ie, glycerin), rapeseed oil, corn oil, and peanut oil have a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids. Of the three fatty acids that the human body needs, the unit unsaturated fatty acid needs the most, corn oil, olive Oil can be an important source of this fatty acid. ^[14]

The fats contained in sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean and other vegetable oils and marine fish are polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are the main component of these edible oils, and the other two fatty acids are not high in content. Among the three fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids are the most unstable, and are most easily oxidized to poisonous oil under the high temperature of frying, frying or frying. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are one of the important raw materials for human cell membranes. ^[14]