Lipids

ROLES OF LIPIDS:

• Source of energy - when oxidised, lipids provide more than twice the energy as the same mass of carbohydrate and release valuable water.
• Waterproofing - lipids are insoluble in water and therefore useful as a waterproofing. Both plants and insects have waxy, lipid cuticles that conserve water, while mammals produce an oily secretion from the sebaceous glands in the skin.
• Insulation- fats are slow conductors of heat and when stored beneath the body surface help to retain body heat. They also act as electrical insulators in the myelin sheath around nerve cells.
• Protection - fat is often stored around delicate organs, such as the kidney.

THE STRUCTURE OF TRIGLYCERIDES RELATED TO THEIR PROPERTIES:

• Have a high ratio of energy-storing carbon-hydrogen bonds to carbon atoms and are therefore…