Fatty acids, Biology

Assignment Help:

FATTY ACIDS

  1. They are monocarboxylic organic acids (R.COOH) having a hydrocarbon chain of 4 - 30 carbon atoms.
  2. The polar carboxylic group is hydrophilic (Gk. hydro - water, phillic - to love) or water soluble.
  3. The remaining part of fatty acid, that is hydrocarbon chain is however nonpolar, hydrophobic (Gk. hydro - water, phobes- fear) or water insoluble.
  4. It is soluble in fat solvents and is, therefore, lipophilic.
  5. Substances like fatty acids which have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components are called amphipathic.
  6. Fatty acids reduce surface tension of water; increase its wetting power and hence capacity to clean. Soap action in due to this phenomenon.
  7. Depending upon the absence or presence of double bonds, fatty acids are of two types-

(i) Saturated                    (ii) Unsaturated


Related Discussions:- Fatty acids

Myocardial contractility, Inspiration decreases the pressure in the central...

Inspiration decreases the pressure in the central veins and thus increases the pressure gradient between the peripheral and central veins thus augmenting venous return. Skeletal mu

Tautomeric shifts, The original DNA sequence when ,transcribed and translat...

The original DNA sequence when ,transcribed and translated would yield five successive valine residues. But the altered sequence would correspondingly read one aspartate and four s

What is the meaning of visuoperceptive disorders, What is the meaning of Vi...

What is the meaning of Visuoperceptive disorders It relates to the way in which brain damage impairs people's ability to adapt to the visual world and the concepts used to trea

Describe the plasma membrane of the beta-islet cell, Insulin binding to ins...

Insulin binding to insulin receptors in the plasma membrane of a A. liver cell will lead to an enhance in the intracellular amounts of cAMP in the liver cell. B. beta-islet

Explain the compound water, Explain the compound water? Water :  Wate...

Explain the compound water? Water :  Water is the most important compound in living cells, making up most of the bulk of living organisms. Our own bodies contain 40% - 60% wa

Was there molecular oxygen in the earths primitive atmospher, Was there mol...

Was there molecular oxygen in the earth's primitive atmosphere? How has that molecule become abundant? The presence of the molecular oxygen in the primitive atmosphere was prob

What is the function of the feet in molluscs, What is the function of the f...

What is the function of the feet in molluscs? How is the mollusc foot related to the name given to the classes of the phylum? The mollusc foot has the function of locomotion, s

What is the pleiotropy, What is the pleiotropy? The Pleiotropy (or plio...

What is the pleiotropy? The Pleiotropy (or pliotropy) is the phenomenon in which a single gene conditions several various phenotypical traits. Few phenotypical traits may be

Lower calorific value (lcv) or net calorific value (ncv), It is defined as ...

It is defined as the amount of heat liberated when one unit mass of fuel is burnt and the products of combustion are allowed to escape.                                  LCV = HC

Define gray matter and white matter of the spinal cord, Q. What are the res...

Q. What are the respective constituents of the gray matter and of the white matter of the spinal cord? The gray matter or gray substance of the spinal cord contains predominant

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd