Textbook - BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY - Hubsky Yu.I. - 2000

Section III. METABOLISM OF MAJOR CLASSES OF BIOMOLECULES

CHAPTER 14. LIPID METABOLISM. I. CATABOLISM OF TRIACYLGLYCEROLS AND FATTY ACIDS

Lipids—neutral fats (triacylglycerols), Complex Lipids (Glycerophospholipids, sphingophospholipids, Glycolipids), and Steroids—enter The Human Body with food and are synthesized intracellularly, performing energetic, structural, and regulatory Functions.

14.1. PATHWAYS OF LIPID METABOLISM

Following transformation in the digestive tract and absorption by intestinal enterocytes, lipids and their Hydrolysis products are transported via the bloodstream to various Organs and Tissues, where they are stored as fat reserves that are utilized According to the physiological needs of the body.

Intracellular Lipid METABOLISM is a set of biochemical Enzymatic reactions involving the Catabolism and anabolism of various classes of lipids that enter the human body as dietary components and are synthesized within it, fulfilling essential energetic functions, serving as Structural components of Cells, and acting as biologically active compounds.

Main Pathways of intracellular lipid metabolism:

- hydrolysis of neutral fats into Fatty acids and glycerol (lipolysis);

- Oxidation and Biosynthesis of Fatty Acids;

- Biosynthesis of triacylglycerols and complex lipids;

- Biosynthesis of Cholesterol and its conversion into biologically active steroids.

The greatest energetic role in the Human and Animal body is played by

neutral fats—triacylglycerols (triglycerides)—esters of glycerol and higher carboxylic (fatty) acids, which, along with CARBOHYDRATES, serve as the primary sources of ATP required for all endergonic functions of cells and the Organism as a whole. Various classes of complex lipids and sterol derivatives perform numerous structural and regulatory functions.