Fatty acid regulation is regulated largely in the concentration of fatty acid in blood, which is, in turn, controlled by the hydrolysis rate of triglycerides in adipose tissue by hormone-sensitive triglycerol lipase. This enzyme is so named because it is susceptible to regulation by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in response to hormonally controlled cAMP levels. Glucagon,…

Fatty acids with an odd number of carbon atoms are oxidised by β-oxidation and produce acetyl-CoA until they reach the last three carbon atoms and finally end with propionyl-CoA. This compound is converted to succinyl-CoA, a constituent of the citric acid cycle.

Carnitine (β-hydroxy trimethylammonium butyrate) is widely distributed and is abundant in muscle. It is synthesised from lysine and methionine in liver and kidney. β-OXIDATION In beta oxidation, two carbon atoms are cleaved at the time from acyl-CoA molecules, starting at the carboxyl end. So the chain is broken between α(2) and β(3) carbon atoms. Hence,…

Fatty acids are activated to acyl-CoA by thiokinase or acyl-CoA synthetase. The reaction occurs in two steps and requires ATP, CoA, and Mg2+. Fatty acid reacts with ATP to form acyl-adenylate, which then combines with CoA to produce acyl-CoA.

Fatty acids refer to fatty acids that are in unesterified state – unesterified fatty acids (UFA) or non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA). In plasma, Free Fatty Acids (FFA) of longer-chain fatty acids are combined with albumin, and in cell, they are attached to a fatty-acids-binding protein so that in fact, they are never really free.

The fatty acid oxidation takes place in mitochondria. Fatty acids are oxidised by most of the tissues in the body. However, brain, erythrocytes, and adrenal medulla cannot utilise fatty acids for energy requirement. The β-oxidation of fatty acids involves the following three stages:

INTRODUCTION The fatty acids are oxidised in the system mainly through β-oxidation. The oxidation of the fatty acids on the beta carbon atom is known as β-oxidation. This results in the sequential of a two carbon fragment, acetyl-CoA. Knoop (1904) proposed that these fatty acids are degraded by oxidation of the β-carbon.

The chylomicron remnants, which contain cholesteryl esters, phospholipoproteins, and some triacylglycerols, are consumed by the liver, where they are further hydrolysed to their component parts. Cholesterol and the nitrogen bases of phospholipids are reused in the body.

Glycerol formed from triacylglycerol is utilised by the liver to produce glycerol-3-phosphate, which can enter glycolysis or gluconeogenesis by oxidation into dihydroxyacetone phosphate.

Triacylglycerols packed in chylomicrons are converted by the skeletal muscle and adipose tissues and also in heart, kidney, and liver to free fatty acids and glycerol by lipoprotein lipase. This enzyme is synthesised in adipose tissues and muscle cells. It is associated with the luminal surface of the endothelial cells of the capillary beds of…