Substances associated with natural fats

Lipids are bioorganic substances related to fatty acid esters and include a variety of compounds such as glycerol esters waxes, phosphoglycerides, sphingolipids, natural hydrocarbons, some vitamins etc.

Natural fats and oils are primarily composed of triglycerides. The usually distinction between oil and fats is its physical state at room temperature. While an oil is often a liquid, a fat is a solid.

Among other substances associated with natural fats are:
Phospholipids
Sterols
Fat-soluble vitamins
Pigments
Hydrocarbons
Oxidations products
Trace metals
Water

These associated substances are importance for several reasons. For example, the fat soluble vitamins sterols and phospholipids are of nutritional importance; the free fatty acid are an index of the degree of hydrolysis of a triglycerides; and the presence of peroxides, aldehydes, and ketones are indicative of the amounts of oxidative deterioration that has taken place in a fat.

Furthermore, certain of the sterols phospholipids, carotenoid pigments and metallic impurities may contribute to the oxidative deterioration of fat. Thus, it is necessary to understand the composition and structure of lipids in order to known their role in the biological chemistry of food.

Natural oils and fats are primarily triglycerides. Triglycerides are triesters of glycerin with three fatty acids.

Substances associated with natural fats