Overview and Introduction on Fatty Acids – Lipids

The term ‘lipids’ describes a hotchpotch of heterogeneous structures; yet they all have two things in common: they are fatty, and high in energy. Lipids do not dissolve in water, or only do so partially – which means they are lipophilic or hydrophobic (they do, however, dissolve well in solvents) – and they are all made from energy-rich units of activated ethanoic acid, so-called acetyl-CoA units. These two properties, plus the way lipids appear in many different forms, means they are destined for a variety of important functions within the human body. In addition to other things, they constitute building materials, message-carriers, and combustible materials. You can read about the properties, structure and functions of lipids below.