Storage lipids - Fats, Oils, waxes, Triacylglycerol, saturated fatty acids, Unsaturated fatty acids, minor fatty acids, Unusual fatty acids

2. Storage Lipids
Fats, Oils and waxes belong to the category
of storage lipids.
Triglycerides are the main storage of lipids
and the primary storage form of lipids is
body fat.

4. FATTY ACIDS
o Fatty acids are aliphatic carboxylic acids.
o The general formula for fatty acid is R-COOH
o They contain a long hydrocarbon chain ending
in a carboxyl group.
o These are obtained on hydrolysis of fats or oils.
o Natural fatty acids usually contain even number
of carbon atoms.

6. FATTY ACIDS
o Saturated fatty acids contain no double
bonds.
oEg: palmitic acid, stearic acid
o The most abundant saturated fatty acid in
plant is palmitic acid.
oFatty acids with double bonds are called

8. Saturated fatty acids
Lauric acid 12:0 CH3(CH2)10COOH
Myristic
acid
14:0 CH3(CH2)12COOH
Palmitic
acid
16:0 CH3(CH2)14COOH
Stearic acid 18:0 CH3(CH2)16COOH
Arachidic
20:0 CH (CH ) COOH

10. FATTY ACIDS
o Monounsaturated fatty acids have one
double bond.
o Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contain
two or more double bonds.
o Oleic acid is the most abundant
monounsaturated fatty acid in plants.
o Linolenic acid is the most abundant fatty acid.

13. Unsaturated fatty acids
Monounsaturated fatty acids
Palmitoleic
acid
16:1 9 CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)
7COOH
Oleic acid 18:1 9 CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)
7COOH
Polyunsaturated fatty acids
Linoleic
acid
18:2 9,
12
CH3(CH2)4CH=CH-CH2
CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
Linolenic
acid
18:3 9,
12, 15
CH3(CH2CH=CH)3(CH2)
7COOH
Arachidonic
acid
20:4 5,
8,11,14
CH3(CH2)4(CH=CHCH2)
3CH=CH(CH2)3COOH

15. Minor Fatty acids
(Fatty acids present in smaller
proportions)
Common
name
Symbol Structure
Butyric acid 4:0
CH3(CH2)2CO
OH
CH (CH ) CO

16. Unusual fatty acids
The plant kingdom contains an abundance
of structurally diverse fatty acids referred
to as unusual fatty acids.
Unusual fatty acids occur in plant as
components of cutin and seed oils and
contribute to their functional properties.
(Cutin acts as barrier for water loss and

17. Unusual fatty acids
o The unusual fatty acids are found only in few
individual species or genus or a whole
family.
o Castor bean (Ricinuscommunis) seed oil is
rich in ricinoleic acid (90%) which is 12-
hydroxy oleic acid CH3(CH2)5-CH(OH)-CH2-
CH=CH-(CH2)7-COOH.

19. Unusual fatty acids
o Hydnocarpic and chaulmoogric acids are
found in chaulmoogra oil which is used in the
treatment of leprosy.
o Trans-hexadecenoic acid
CH3(CH2)11CH=CHCH2COOH is present as a
phospholipid component in chloroplast
membranes.

20. Essential fatty acids
o Human body is unable to synthesise all fatty
acids found in the body.
o Those fatty acids that are not synthesised
in the body but required for normal body
growth and maintenance are called as
essential fatty acids.
o These fatty acids are to be supplied
through diet.

21. Essential fatty acids
o Linoleic and linolenic acids are essential fatty
acids.
o Arachidonic acid is essential but it can be
synthesised by our body from linolenic acid.
o Prolonged absence of any one of these fatty
acids results in a deficiency disease.

22. Essential fatty acids
The symptoms of EFA deficiency are
increased metabolic rate and red blood cell
abnormalities (due to mitochondrial damage /
membrane dysfunction).
EFAs are precursors of prostaglandins, a
group of very vital chemical substances
which play a key role in the functioning of

24. TRIACYL GLYCEROL
Triacylglycerols are composed of three fatty
acids esterified to the three hydroxyl groups
of glycerol.
They are also referred as triglycerides.
Triacylglycerol is the major form of storage
lipid.
They are components of oils and fats.

26. TRIACYL GLYCEROL
o When all the 3 fatty acid molecules are of the
same kind the triacylglycerol is said to be
simple triacylglycerol
o Eg. Tristearin, tripalmitin
o Mixed triacylglycerol contains two or more
different fatty acids.
o Eg. 1,3-Dipalmitoyl-2-stearin

27. TRIACYL GLYCEROL
o Triacylglycerol that exist as solid at room
temperature are called fats; those that are
liquid at room temperature are called oils.
o Neutral fats or oils are mostly composed of
mixed triacyl glycerol.
o Fats usually are rich in saturated fatty acids
whereas oils contain predominantly

30. TRIACYL GLYCEROL
o Most oil-producing plants store their lipids in
the form of triacylglcerols.
o The oil present as droplets in the cytoplasm
of the seed cells are called oil bodies.
o The oil bodies are surrounded by a
membrane composed of phospholipid and
protein.

31. TRIACYL GLYCEROL

33. WAXES
Waxes are esters of long-chain saturated
and unsaturated fatty acids with long chain
alcohol.
The carbon number of fatty acids vary from
14 to 34 and that alcohol from 16 to 30.
Examples of waxes are beeswax, carnauba
oil, and lanolin

36. WAXES
Major component of bees wax is triacontanyl
palmitate, containing palmitic acid and
triacontanol.

37. WAXES
Carnauba - The leaves of the carnauba palm,
Coperniciacerifera, have a thick coating of wax,
which can be harvested from the dried leaves.
The wax esters constitute C16 to C20 fatty acids
linked to C30 to C34 alcohols, giving C46 to C54
molecular species.

38. Carnauba Wax
Uses of carnauba Wax

39. WAXES
Liquid wax – jojoba oil - The jojoba plant
(Simmondsiachinensis), is unique in
producing wax esters rather than
triacylglycerols in its seeds, and it has
become a significant crop.
The wax is made up of straight esters with
an average total chain length of 42 carbon

40. WAXES
Jojoba wax has a wide range of industrial
uses including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals,
extenders for plastics, printer ink, gear oil
additives and various lubricants.
Jojoba oil is highly stable and can be stored
for years without becoming rancid.

41. WAXES
Cuticular waxes- Waxes are also present in the
cuticle of plants
The main components of cuticular waxes are
hydrocarbon (odd chain alkanes) and its derivatives,
wax esters, free aldehydes, free acids, free alcohols
and other components like mono esters of phenolic
acids and aliphatic alcohols.
The main function of the cuticular wax is to reduce the
excessive losses of water from the underlying tissue.It