Four Categories Of Micromolecules In our body – Lipids, Carbohydrates, Nucleic Acids and Proteins?

There are four categories of macromolecules living in our systems: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins.

Lipids are what we usually call ‘fats’. They provide extra energy when the energy from carbohydrates runs out, and they also specialize in dividing cells.

The building blocks of lipids are:

One glycerol molecule and at least one fatty acid, with a maximum of three fatty acids.

Glycerol is a sugar alcohol with three OH groups. It acts as a backbone for fatty acids to bond.

Fatty acids are made up of a long hydrocarbon with carboxyl group, which is represented as COOH. When the total number of carbons exceeds four, carboxylic acid is known as a fatty acid.

To become a lipid, a combination must occur between fatty acids and glycerol called esterification. The reaction of glycerol and fatty acids forms a compound, which is lipids plus water. During the reaction, three water molecules are removed for them to combine.

Therefore, with one molecule of glycerol and at least one fatty acid, we will get the compound of lipids.

Credit: study.com