An unsaturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain, which makes the fatty acid chain, which is basically a chain of Hydrocarbon, an alkene. A fatty acid chain is monounsaturated if it contains one double bond, and polyunsaturated if it contains more than one double bond.
A saturated fat has no carbon-to-carbon double bonds, so the maximum possible number of hydrogen is bonded to carbon, and thus, is considered to be "saturated" with hydrogen atoms. To form carbon-to-carbon double bonds, hydrogen are removed from the carbon chain. In cellular metabolism, unsaturated fat molecules contain less energy (i.e., fewer calories) than an equivalent amount of saturated fat. The greater the degree of unsaturation in a fatty acid (i.e., the more double bonds in the fatty acid) the more susceptible it becomes to lipid peroxidation (rancidification). can protect unsaturated fat from lipid peroxidation.
Composition of common fats
In chemical analysis, fats are broken down to their constituent fatty acids, which can be analyzed in various ways. In one approach, fats undergo transesterification to give fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), which are amenable to separation and quantitation using gas chromatography.
Classically, unsaturated isomers were separated and identified by argentation thin-layer chromatography.
+ Fatty acid component (mole %) of selected fats |
|
| trace |
| trace |
| trace |
| 51–56 |
| 6–11 |
| trace |
| 1 |
| 1 |
The saturated fatty acid components are almost exclusively stearic (C18) and
(C16). Monounsaturated fats are almost exclusively
oleic acid.
Linolenic acid comprises most of the triunsaturated fatty acid component.
Chemistry and nutrition
Although polyunsaturated fats are protective against cardiac arrhythmias, a study of post-
menopausal women with a relatively low fat intake showed that polyunsaturated fat is positively associated with progression of
coronary atherosclerosis, whereas monounsaturated fat is not.
This probably is an indication of the greater vulnerability of polyunsaturated fats to lipid peroxidation, against which
vitamin E has been shown to be protective.
Examples of unsaturated fatty acids are palmitoleic acid, oleic acid, myristoleic acid, linoleic acid, and arachidonic acid. Foods containing unsaturated fats include avocado, nuts, , and such as canola. Meat products contain both saturated and unsaturated fats.
Although unsaturated fats are conventionally regarded as 'healthier' than saturated fats,[ Fats and sugars. BBC Health, retrieved 2013-04-07] the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation stated that the amount of unsaturated fat consumed should not exceed 30% of one's daily caloric intake.
Membrane composition as a metabolic pacemaker
Studies on the
of
and
discovered that mammalian cell membranes are composed of a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (DHA, omega-3 fatty acid) than
.
Studies on bird fatty acid composition have noted similar proportions to mammals but with 1/3rd less omega-3 fatty acids as compared to omega-6 for a given body size.
This fatty acid composition results in a more fluid cell membrane but also one that is permeable to various ions (H+ & Na+), resulting in cell membranes that are more costly to maintain. This maintenance cost has been argued to be one of the key causes for the high metabolic rates and concomitant
of mammals and birds.
However polyunsaturation of cell membranes may also occur in response to chronic cold temperatures as well. In
fish increasingly cold environments lead to increasingly high cell membrane content of both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, to maintain greater membrane fluidity (and functionality) at the lower
.
See also
-
Iodine value – a chemical analysis method to determine the proportion of unsaturated fat.
-
List of unsaturated fatty acids
