Elementary plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology (2+1)

Structures of fatty acids and triacyl glycerol, essential fatty acids Plant fatty acids

Fatty acids

• Fatty acids are carboxylic acids with hydrocarbon chains of 2 to 36 carbons.
• More than 200 fatty acids have been isolated from higher and lower plants.
• Of these, only a few are present in large quantities in most plant lipids.
• These are referred as major fatty acids.
• Fatty acids present in smaller proportions are called as minor fatty acids.
• Major and minor fatty acids are usually biosynthesised by analogous pathways.
• Fatty acids that occur only in a few plant species are called as unusual fatty acids.