Oils and Oil Types

What is Oil? What are the Duties of Oils?

Fats (lipids) consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements. Nitrogen and phosphorus elements can also be added to their structures. It is insoluble in water. However, alcohol is soluble in organic solvents such as ether.

Oils; It is very important for living things as they have a constructive, restorative and regulatory role. It participates in the structure of the cell membrane. Some oils have a regulatory role as hormones and vitamins.

The excess of proteins and carbohydrates in the nutrients taken are converted into fat and stored. Since the fats are light and hydrogen content is high, when oxygenated, it breaks down with oxygen, it provides twice the energy of carbohydrates and creates abundant metabolic water.

Hibernating mammals, migratory birds, and camels adapted to desert life store plenty of fat in their bodies. The fat layer that surrounds the vital organs protects the internal organs against impacts.

Since the fat layer prevents heat loss by performing the insulation function, it is stored in excessive amounts under the skin in mammals such as whales, seals and polar bears. The fat around the nerve cells performs electrical isolation.

The oil layer on the skin, fur and feathers is protective against water. Some oils help absorb light energy in plant cells. The most biologically important oils are; triglycerides are phospholipids and steroids.

Oil Types

Triglycerides (Neutral Oils)

Triglycerides are the most abundant in nature and stored in animals. It consists of two types of monomers: fatty acids and glycerol.

Glycerol is a three carbon alcohol. Fatty acids are long chains with carbon atoms ranging from 4 to 24.

During the synthesis of triglycerides, one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of fatty acid combine with the esterification reaction. This reaction is a dehydration
Is the event.

During the reaction, three ester bonds are formed between glycerol and fatty acids, and three molecules of water are released. The fatty acids involved in the structure of triglycerides are divided into two groups as saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
are separated.

Saturated and Unsaturated Fats

All bonds between carbon atoms in saturated fatty acids are unique. In unsaturated fatty acids, there are double bonds between carbon atoms. This gives flexibility to the fatty acid. Triglyceride containing saturated fatty acids is called saturated fat. Most of the animal fats such as tallow and butter are saturated fats and are solid at room temperature.

Vegetable oils such as olive oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and fish oil contain one or more unsaturated fatty acids. These oils are called unsaturated fats and are liquid at room temperature.

Unsaturated fats are more beneficial for health. Excessive consumption of animal fat, creating plaque on the inner walls of blood vessels and blood
cardiovascular diseases
may cause.

Phospholipids

Phospholipids; It is a type of fat consisting of two glycerol bound fatty acids and a phosphate group. Phospholipids join the structure of the cell membrane.

Phosphate ends of phospholipids are hydrophilic (water-loving) but tail parts of fatty acids are hydrophobic (water-loving).

In the aqueous environment, the hydrophobic parts of the phospholipids form a double layer with the hydrophilic heads facing out. Phospholipids in the cell membrane are arranged in this way.

Steroids

Steroids, which are a monomer oil type, are examples of cholesterol and sexual hormones of vertebrate animals. Cholesterol is the component of animal cell membranes, while increasing the fluidity of the membrane, it provides flexibility and durability.

Some steroids are the precursors of hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. Cholesterol is taken with nutrients in vertebrates as well as it is synthesized in the liver. It participates in the structure of bile.

Consuming shellfish such as egg yolk, chicken skin, offal and lobster and shrimp will increase the level of cholesterol in the blood. This can lead to arteriosclerosis and congestion. If the vessels feeding the heart are blocked, a heart attack may occur, and if the vessels feeding the brain are blocked, loss of consciousness and paralysis may occur.