Simple lipids containing 3-carbon alcohol glycerol linked to one to three fatty acids or their derivatives.
Examples of simple lipids are triglycerides, steroids, wax ester and waxes.
A wax is a complex, varying mixture of lipids with long fatty acid tails bonded to long chain alcohols or carbon rings.
The molecules pack tightly, so the result substance is firm and water repellent. Waxes in the surface of apples and other fruits from temperate zones are solids or semisolids pates, consisting of terpenes, ceryl cerotate, ceryl palmitate and other esters.
Waxes dissolved in fat solvents, and their solubility is dependent on temperature. Waxes are totally insoluble in water, a consequence of their hydrocarbon, non-polar, nature. The can wet and disperse pigments and can be emulsified with water which makes them useful in the furniture, pharmaceutical and food industries.
The role of waxes is to protect the surface of plant leaves, stems and seeds from dehydration and infections by microorganisms.
Waxes also present in fish oils, especially in sperm whale blubber and whale head oil, which contain a ‘reservoir’ of spermaceti wax.
Simple lipids of Waxes
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