Butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long aliphatic tail (chain), which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have a chain of an even number of carbon atoms, from 4 to 28.^[1] Fatty acids are usually derived from triglycerides or phospholipids. When they are not attached to other molecules, they are known as "free" fatty acids. Fatty acids are important sources of fuel because, when metabolized, they yield large quantities of ATP. Many cell types can use either glucose or fatty acids for this purpose. In particular, heart and skeletal muscle prefer fatty acids. The brain cannot use fatty acids as a source of fuel; it relies on glucose or ketone bodies.^[2]

Types of fatty acids[link]

Three dimensional representations of several fatty acids

Fatty acids that have double bonds are known as unsaturated. Fatty acids without double bonds are known as saturated. They differ in length as well.

Length of free fatty acid chains[link]

Fatty acid chains differ by length, often categorized as short, medium, or long.

• Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) are fatty acids with aliphatic tails of fewer than six carbons (i.e. butyric acid).
• Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) are fatty acids with aliphatic tails of 6–12^[3] carbons, which can form medium-chain triglycerides.
• Long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) are fatty acids with aliphatic tails longer than 12 carbons.^[4]
• Very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) are fatty acids with aliphatic tails longer than 22 carbons

Unsaturated fatty acids[link]

Comparison of the trans isomer (top) Elaidic acid and the cis-isomer oleic acid.

Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double bonds between carbon atoms. (Pairs of carbon atoms connected by double bonds can be saturated by adding hydrogen atoms to them, converting the double bonds to single bonds. Therefore, the double bonds are called unsaturated.)

The two carbon atoms in the chain that are bound next to either side of the double bond can occur in a cis or trans configuration.

cis 

A cis configuration means that adjacent hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the double bond. The rigidity of the double bond freezes its conformation and, in the case of the cis isomer, causes the chain to bend and restricts the conformational freedom of the fatty acid. The more double bonds the chain has in the cis configuration, the less flexibility it has. When a chain has many cis bonds, it becomes quite curved in its most accessible conformations. For example, oleic acid, with one double bond, has a "kink" in it, whereas linoleic acid, with two double bonds, has a more pronounced bend. Alpha-linolenic acid, with three double bonds, favors a hooked shape. The effect of this is that, in restricted environments, such as when fatty acids are part of a phospholipid in a lipid bilayer, or triglycerides in lipid droplets, cis bonds limit the ability of fatty acids to be closely packed, and therefore could affect the melting temperature of the membrane or of the fat.

trans 

A trans configuration, by contrast, means that the next two hydrogen atoms are bound to opposite sides of the double bond. As a result, they do not cause the chain to bend much, and their shape is similar to straight saturated fatty acids.

In most naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids, each double bond has three n carbon atoms after it, for some n, and all are cis bonds. Most fatty acids in the trans configuration (trans fats) are not found in nature and are the result of human processing (e.g., hydrogenation).

The differences in geometry between the various types of unsaturated fatty acids, as well as between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, play an important role in biological processes, and in the construction of biological structures (such as cell membranes).

Essential fatty acids[link]

Fatty acids that are required by the human body but cannot be made in sufficient quantity from other substrates, and therefore must be obtained from food, are called essential fatty acids. There are two series of essential fatty acids: one has a double bond three carbon atoms removed from the methyl end; the other has a double bond six carbon atoms removed from the methyl end. Humans lack the ability to introduce double bonds in fatty acids beyond carbons 9 and 10, as counted from the carboxylic acid side.^[5] Two essential fatty acids are linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). They are widely distributed in plant oils. The human body has a limited ability to convert ALA into the longer-chain n-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which can also be obtained from fish.

Saturated fatty acids[link]

Saturated fatty acids are long-chain carboxylic acids that usually have between 12 and 24 carbon atoms and have no double bonds. Thus, saturated fatty acids are saturated with hydrogen (since double bonds reduce the number of hydrogens on each carbon). Because saturated fatty acids have only single bonds, each carbon atom within the chain has 2 hydrogen atoms (except for the omega carbon at the end that has 3 hydrogens).

Nomenclature[link]

Numbering of carbon atoms

Several different systems of nomenclature are used for fatty acids. The following table describes the most common systems.

Production[link]

Fatty acids are usually produced industrially by the hydrolysis of triglycerides, with the removal of glycerol (see oleochemicals). Phospholipids represent another source. Some fatty acids are produced synthetically by hydrocarboxylation of alkenes.

Free fatty acids[link]

The biosynthesis of fatty acids involves the condensation of acetyl-CoA. Since this coenzyme carries a two-carbon-atom group, almost all natural fatty acids have even numbers of carbon atoms.

The "uncombined fatty acids" or "free fatty acids" found in organisms^[which?] come from the breakdown of a triglyceride^{[citation needed]}. Because they are insoluble in water, these fatty acids are transported (solubilized, circulated) while bound to plasma protein albumin. The levels of "free fatty acid" in the blood are limited by the availability of albumin binding sites.

Fatty acids in dietary fats[link]

The following table gives the fatty acid, vitamin E and cholesterol composition of some common dietary fats.^{[8] [9]}

Reactions of fatty acids[link]

Fatty acids exhibit reactions like other carboxylic acid, i.e. they undergo esterification and acid-base reactions.

Acidity[link]

Fatty acids do not show a great variation in their acidities, as indicated by their respective pK_a. Nonanoic acid, for example, has a pK_a of 4.96, being only slightly weaker than acetic acid (4.76). As the chain length increases, the solubility of the fatty acids in water decreases very rapidly, so that the longer-chain fatty acids have minimal effect on the pH of an aqueous solution. Even those fatty acids that are insoluble in water will dissolve in warm ethanol, and can be titrated with sodium hydroxide solution using phenolphthalein as an indicator to a pale-pink endpoint. This analysis is used to determine the free fatty acid content of fats; i.e., the proportion of the triglycerides that have been hydrolyzed.

Hydrogenation and hardening[link]

Hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids is widely practiced to give saturated fatty acids, which are less prone toward rancidification. Since the saturated fatty acids are higher melting than the unsaturated relatives, the process is called hardening. This technology is used to convert vegetable oils into margarine. During partial hydrogenation, unsaturated fatty acids can be isomerized from cis to trans configuration.^[11]

More forcing hydrogenation, i.e. using higher pressures of H₂ and higher temperatures, converts fatty acids into fatty alcohols. Fatty alcohols are, however, more easily produced from fatty acid esters.

In the Varrentrapp reaction certain unsaturated fatty acids are cleaved in molten alkali, a reaction at one time of relevance to structure elucidation.

Auto-oxidation and rancidity[link]

Unsaturated fatty acids undergo a chemical change known as auto-oxidation. The process requires oxygen (air) and is accelerated by the presence of trace metals. Vegetable oils resists this process because they contain antioxidants, such as tocopherol. Fats and oils often are treated with chelating agents such as citric acid to remove the metal catalysts.

Ozonolysis[link]

Unsaturated fatty acids are susceptible to degradation by ozone. This reaction is practiced in the production of azelaic acid ((CH₂)₇(CO_2H)₂) from oleic acid.^[11]

Circulation[link]

Digestion and intake[link]

Short- and medium-chain fatty acids are absorbed directly into the blood via intestine capillaries and travel through the portal vein just as other absorbed nutrients do. However, long-chain fatty acids are not directly released into the intestinal capillaries. Instead they are absorbed into the fatty walls of the intestine villi and reassembled again into triglycerides. The triglycerides are coated with cholesterol and protein (protein coat) into a compound called a chylomicron.

Within the villi, the chylomicron enters a lymphatic capillary called a lacteal, which merges into larger lymphatic vessels. It is transported via the lymphatic system and the thoracic duct up to a location near the heart (where the arteries and veins are larger). The thoracic duct empties the chylomicrons into the bloodstream via the left subclavian vein. At this point the chylomicrons can transport the triglycerides to tissues where they are stored or metabolized for energy.

Metabolism[link]

Fatty acids (provided either by ingestion or by drawing on triglycerides stored in fatty tissues) are distributed to cells to serve as a fuel for muscular contraction and general metabolism. They are consumed by mitochondria to produce ATP through beta oxidation.

Distribution[link]

Blood fatty acids are in different forms in different stages in the blood circulation. They are taken in through the intestine in chylomicrons, but also exist in very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) and low density lipoproteins (LDL) after processing in the liver. In addition, when released from adipocytes, fatty acids exist in the blood as free fatty acids.

It is proposed that the blend of fatty acids exuded by mammalian skin, together with lactic acid and pyruvic acid, is distinctive and enables animals with a keen sense of smell to differentiate individuals.^[12]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fatty acids

• Essential fatty acid
• Fatty acid metabolism
• Fatty acid synthase
• Fatty acid synthesis
• List of saturated fatty acids
• Saturated fat
• Unsaturated fat
• Vegetable oils

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lipid Library
• Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes & Essential Fatty Acids Journal
• Fatty Blood Acids