Fats
conseest o a wide group o compoonds that are generally soluble in organic solvents an generally insoluble in watter.
Chemically
, fats are
triglycerides
:
triesters
o
glycerol
an ony o several
fatty acids
. Fats mey be aither
solit
or
liquid
at
ruim temperatur
, dependin on thair structur an componeetion. Altho the wirds "iles", "fats", an "
lipids
" are aw uised tae refer tae fats, in reality, fat is a subset o lipid.
[1]
"Iles" is uisually uised tae refer tae fats that are liquids at normal ruim temperatur, while "fats" is uisually uised tae refer tae fats that are solits at normal ruim temperatur. "Lipids" is uised tae refer tae baith liquid an solit fats, alang wi ither relatit substances, uisually in a medical or biochemical context. The wird "
ile
" is an aa uised for ony substance that daes nae mix wi watter an haes a greasy feel, sic as
petroleum
(or crude ile),
heatin ile
, an
essential iles
, regairdless o its chemical structur.
[2]
Fats furm a category o
lipid
, distinguished frae ither lipids bi thair
chemical structur
an pheesical properties. This category o molecules is important for mony furms o life, servin baith structural an metabolic functions. Thay are an important pairt o the
diet
o maist
heterotrophs
(includin humans). Fats or lipids are broken doun in the body bi enzymes cried
lipases
produced in the
pancreas
.
Examples o edible ainimal fats are
laird
,
fish ile
,
butter
/
ghee
an
whaul blubber
. Thay are obtained frae fats in the milk an meat, as well as frae unner the skin, o an ainimal. Examples o
edible plant fats
include peanut, soya bean, sunflouer, sesame, coconut an olive iles, an
cocoa butter
.
Vegetable shortenin
, uised mainly for bakin, an
margarine
, uised in bakin an as a spread, can be derived frae the abuin iles bi
hydrogenation
.
Thir ensaumples o fats can be categorized intae
saturatit fats
an
unsaturatit fats
. Unsaturatit fats can be further dividit intae
cis fats
, which are the maist common in naitur, an
trans fats
, which are rare in naitur but present in pairtially hydrogenatit vegetable iles.