Editing Glyceride

{{Short description|Chemical esters commonly found in fats and oils}}
{{About|a type of chemical substances within the group of lipids|the worm family|Glyceridae}}

[[Image:Glycerin Skelett2.svg|thumb|[[Glycerol]]]]
[[Image:Triacetin.svg|thumb|[[Triacetin]], the simplest possible fat (triglyceride) after [[triformin]]]]
'''Glycerides''', also known as '''acylglycerols''', are [[ester]]s formed from [[glycerol]] and [[fatty acid]]s, and are generally very hydrophobic.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Diehl|first1=Katharine L.|last2=Ivy|first2=Michelle Adams|last3=Rabidoux|first3=Scott|last4=Petry|first4=Stefan Matthias|last5=Müller|first5=Günter|last6=Anslyn|first6=Eric V.|date=2015-07-28|title=Differential sensing for the regio- and stereoselective identification and quantitation of glycerides|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=112|issue=30|pages=E3977–E3986|doi=10.1073/pnas.1508848112|issn=0027-8424|pmid=26175025|pmc=4522822|bibcode=2015PNAS..112E3977D|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Glycerol has three [[hydroxyl]] [[functional group]]s, which can be esterified with one, two, or three fatty acids to form [[monoglyceride|mono-]], [[diglyceride|di-]], and [[triglyceride]]s.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|date=June 2007|title=Sasol retains olefins and surfactants unit|journal=Focus on Surfactants|volume=2007|issue=6|pages=3|doi=10.1016/s1351-4210(07)70191-9|issn=1351-4210}}</ref> These structures vary in their fatty acid alkyl groups as they can contain different carbon numbers, different degrees of unsaturation, and different configurations and positions of olefins.<ref name=":1" />

[[File:Acylglycerols-general-structures.svg|upright=3|thumb|center|General structures of mono-, di-, and tri-acylglycerides with names according to the stereospecific numbering]][[Image:Rasyslami.jpg|thumb|[[Fatty acid]]]][[Vegetable oil]]s and [[animal fat]]s contain mostly triglycerides, but are broken down by natural [[enzyme]]s ([[lipase]]s) into [[Monoglyceride|mono]] and [[diglyceride]]s and free fatty acids and glycerol.

[[Soap]]s are formed from the reaction of glycerides with [[sodium hydroxide]]. The product of the reaction is glycerol and salts of fatty acids. Fatty acids in the soap [[emulsion|emulsify]] the oils in dirt, enabling the removal of oily dirt with water.

'''Partial glycerides''' are esters of glycerol with fatty acids, where not all the
hydroxyl groups are esterified. Since some of their hydroxyl groups are free their molecules are [[Chemical polarity#Large molecules with both a polar and a non-polar end|polar]]. Partial glycerides may be [[monoglyceride]]s (two hydroxyl groups free) or [[diglyceride]]s (one hydroxyl group free).
Short chain partial glycerides are more strongly polar than long chain partial glycerides, and have excellent solvent properties for many hard-to-solubilize drugs, making them valuable as [[excipient]]s in improving the formulation of certain pharmaceuticals.
The most common forms of acylglycerol are [[triglycerides]], having high [[caloric value]] and usually yielding twice as much energy per gram as carbohydrate.
<ref name=":02" />

== Acylglyceride linkage ==
An '''acylglyceride linkage''' is the [[covalent bond]] between the [[organic acid]] groups (such as [[fatty acid]]) and one of the three [[hydroxyl groups]] of [[glycerol]].<ref>Moore, Randy, et al. (1998) ''Botany.'' 2nd Ed. New York: WCB/McGraw Hill. {{ISBN|978-0-697-28623-9}}.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Glycerides}}
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[[Category:Lipids]]
[[Category:Glycerol esters]]