Carbohydrates and Lipids of Eggs

CARBOHYDRATES AND LIPIDS OF EGGS

Carbohydrate

  • Egg is a poor source of carbohydrate and a standard sized egg (58g) contains only 0.5g of carbohydrate, of which 0.3g is seen in albumen and 0.2g in yolk.

Lipids

  • These are exclusively present in yolk only.
  • A standard sized egg contains 6g of lipids and these are present in an emulsified form which facilitates easy digestion and absorption.
  • Of the total lipids 62% is true fat or triglycerides.
  • Oleic acid is the major fatty acid and it constitutes around 50% of the total fatty acids.
  • Palmitic acid forms 27%, linoleic acid 11%, stearic 6% and the remaining 6% is made up of other fatty acids.
  • Phospholipids constitute around 33% of the total yolk lipids.
  • The different phospholipids present in yolk are phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, lyso - phosphatidyl choline, lyso - phosphatidyl ethanol amine, sphingomyelin, plasmalogen, inositol phospholipids etc.
  • Sterols form 5% of total lipids and the chief sterol is cholesterol.
  • An egg contains 200 – 300mg of cholesterol.
  • Cerebrosides (ovokerasine and ovophrenosin) are present in traces in egg.
Last modified: Wednesday, 11 April 2012, 9:22 AM