Fatty acids have carbon-carbon double bonds known as unsaturated. Unsubstantiated fatty acids are known as saturated fatty acids. They also have a long difference.
The length of the free fatty acid chain The fatty acid chain is different in length, often categorized as short to very long.
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), are fatty acids with aliphatic tails having five or less carbon (eg, butyric acid). Medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), are fatty acids with an aliphatic tail having 6 to 12 carbon amounts, which can form medium chain triglycerides. Long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), are fatty acids with an aliphatic tail of 13 to 20 carbons. Very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) are fatty acids with an aliphatic tail equal to 22 carbon or more.
Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double bonds between carbon atoms. (A couple of carbon atoms connected through a double bond can be saturated with the addition of a hydrogen atom, converting the double bond into a single bond.Therefore, the double bond is called unsaturated.)
Two carbon atoms in a chain bound next to a double bond may form a cis or trans configuration.
The cis configuration means that two hydrogen atoms adjacent to the double bond are on the same side of the chain. The double bonding stiffness conforms to conformation and, in the case of the cis isomer, causes the chain to bend and impede the freedom of fatty acid conformation. The more double bonds in the chain with the cis configuration, the less flexibility. When a chain has many cis bonds, it becomes more curved in an attainable conformation. For example, oleic acid, with one double bond, has a "fracture" in it, while linoleic acid, with two double bonds has a clearer indentation. The α-linolenic acid, with three double bonds, has a hook shape. The effect of this is that, in limited environments, when fatty acids are part of phospholipids in two-layer lipids, or triglycerides in lipid droplets, the cis bond limits the ability of the fatty acid to be compressed, and therefore may affect the melting point of the membrane or fat.
The trans configuration, by contrast, means that two adjacent hydrogen atoms are on the opposite side of the chain. As a result, they do not cause many bending chains, and the shape is similar to saturated fatty acids straight.
In almost all natural unsaturated fatty acids, each double bond has n carbon atoms next to it, for a few n, and is entirely cis-bound. Almost all fatty acids with trans configurations (trans fats) are not found in nature and are the result of human processing (eg, hydrogenation).
The geometric differences between the various types of unsaturated fatty acids, and also between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, play an important role in biological processes, and in the construction of biological structures (eg cell membranes).
| Number | Common name | Chemical Structure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | miristoleat acid | CH3(CH2)3CH=CH(CH2)7COOH |
| 2 | palmitoleat acid | CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)7COOH |
| 3 | sapienat acid | CH3(CH2)8CH=CH(CH2)4COOH |
| 4 | oleat acid | CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH |
| 5 | elaidat acid | CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH |
| 6 | vaksenat acid | CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)9COOH |
The fatty acids needed by the human body but can not be made in sufficient quantities from other substrates, and therefore must be obtained from the outside, are called essential fatty acids. There are two groups of essential fatty acids: first, which have a double bond spaced three carbon atoms from the methyl end; and second, which has a double bond within six carbon atoms from the methyl end. Humans do not have the ability to introduce double bonds to fatty acids outside carbon 9 and 10, calculated from the side of the carboxylic acid.Two essential fatty acids are linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). They are widely present in plant oils. The human body has limited ability to convert ALA into longer-term omega-3 fatty acids - eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which can also be obtained from fish.
Saturated fatty acids do not have double bonds. Therefore, saturated fatty acids are saturated fatty acids with hydrogen (because double bonds reduce the amount of hydrogen in each carbon). Each of the carbon in the chain has 2 hydrogen atoms (except the omega carbon at the end of which has 3 hydrogens), since saturated fatty acids have only a single bond.
| Number | Common Name | Chemical Structure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caprilat Acid | CH3(CH2)6COOH |
| 2 | Caprat Acid | CH3(CH2)8COOH |
| 3 | Laurat Acid | CH3(CH2)10COOH |
| 4 | Miristat Acid | CH3(CH2)12COOH |
| 5 | Palmitat Acid | CH3(CH2)14COOH |
| 6 | Stearat Acid | CH3(CH2)16COOH |
| 7 | Arakidat Acid | CH3(CH2)18COOH |
| 8 | Behenat Acid | CH3(CH2)20COOH |
| 9 | Lignokerat Acid | CH3(CH2)22COOH |
| 10 | Kerotat Acid | CH3(CH2)24COOH |
Created By Ramadhan AP