In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid often with a long unbranched aliphatic tail (chain), which is either saturated or unsaturated. Carboxylic acids as short as butyric acid (4 carbon atoms) are considered to be fatty acids, whereas fatty acids derived from natural fats and oils may be assumed to have at least 8 carbon atoms, e.g., caprylic acid (octanoic acid)
A class of compounds that contain a long chain composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms In general, fatty acids refer to any compound derived from the breakdown of fats
Any of a large group of monobasic acids, especially those found in animal and vegetable fats and oils, having the general formula CCOOH. Characteristically made up of saturated or unsaturated aliphatic compounds with an even number of carbon atoms, this group of acids includes palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids. an acid that the cells in your body need to use food effectively. Organic compound that is an important component of lipids in plants, animals, and microorganisms. Fatty acids are carboxylic acids with a long hydrocarbon chain, usually straight, as the fourth substituent group on the carboxyl (COOH) group (see functional group) that makes the molecule an acid. If the carbon-to-carbon bonds (see bonding) in that chain are all single, the fatty acid is saturated; artificial saturation is called hydrogenation. A fatty acid with one double bond is monounsaturated; one with more is polyunsaturated. These are more reactive chemically. Most unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, so food manufacturers hydrogenate them to make them solid (see margarine). A high level of saturated fatty acids in the diet raises blood cholesterol levels. A few fatty acids have branched chains. Others (e.g., prostaglandins) contain ring structures. Fatty acids in nature are always combined, usually with glycerol as triglycerides in fats. Oleic acid (unsaturated, with 18 carbon atoms) is almost half of human fat and is abundant in such oils as olive, palm, and peanut. Most animals, including mammals, cannot synthesize some unsaturated "essential" fatty acids; humans need linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids in their diet
any monobasic (one displaceable hydrogen atom per molecule) organic acid having the general formula CnH2n+1 COOH Fatty acids derived from natural fats and oils are used to make soaps used in the manufacture of greases and other lubricants See grease
An organic acid that is either manufactured by the body or must be supplied by the diet Examples of fatty acids include linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acid
A long, unbranched-chain carboxylic acid, most commonly of 12 to 20 carbons, derived from the hydrolysis of animal fats, vegetable oils, or the phospholipids of biological membranes
Any of the series of saturated or unsaturated acids (C n H 2n O 2 ) such as stearic, oleic, and palmitic acids which occur in natural fats and natural oils
-a long-chain molecule made of carbon atoms and capped at the end with a carboxyl group (COOH)
An organic acid of aliphatic structure originally derived from fats and fatty oils
acids found in lipids; composed of carbon atoms flanked by hydrogen atoms with an acid group
A fatty acid is a carboxylic acid (an acid with a -COOH group) with long hydrocarbon side chains
any of a class of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids that form part of a lipid molecule and can be derived from fat by hydrolysis; fatty acids are simple molecules built around a series of carbon atoms linked together in a chain of 12 to 22 carbon atoms
A chemical unit that occurs naturally, either singly or combined, and consists of strongly linked carbon and hydrogen atoms in a chain-like structure The end of the chain contains a reactive acid group made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen This acid group permits reaction with glycerol to make the fatty acid a fundamental unit of the triglyceride fat molecule A natural fat is a mixture of triglyceride fat molecules Fatty acids found in soybeans include palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic