The role of fatty acids for the human body.
What are fatty acids? This is the carboxylic acid from the composition of vegetable and animal fats. They perform the energy function, because with the decomposition of acids in the body, energy is formed, as well as plastic function, because the acids participate in the construction of membranes, which constitute the skeleton of plant and animal cells. Absolutely all fatty acids are divided into unsaturated and saturated. More useful unsaturated fatty acids, because they synthesize the biologically active substances of prostaglandins and play a direct active role in the metabolism.
Fatty acids are synthesized in the liver, in the walls of the intestine, in the pulmonary and fatty tissues, in the bone marrow and other tissues. Fatty acids are also part of the most diverse lipids: phosphatides, glycerides, waxes, cholesterol, and other elements that take an active part in metabolism.
What is called oleic acid? The role of acids in the human body.
The oleic acid is the highest fatty unsaturated mono-acid, which is part of the fat (lipids) that participate in the construction of membranes, and determine the properties of these lipids to the greatest extent. The process of replacing oleic acids in lipids consisting in biological membranes with other fatty acids extremely dramatically modifies the biological feature of membranes, called permeability. The presence of large amounts of similar acids in the fats of human fat stores provides protection of lipids from oxidation with a small amount of antioxidants.
Oleic acid, in principle, is a replaceable fatty acid that can be synthesized, for example, in cells in the human liver. But oleic acids, with all this, are one of the most common acids found in food fats. Oleic acid plays a huge role in people's diet. Fats, in which the content of oleic acid is increased, are highly digestible. In medicine, even a medicinal preparation is used, in the basis of which oleic acid is linetol.
In industry, oleic acid is used as a basis for the production of coatings, varnishes, drying oils, enamels, paints. It is also used as plastic substances in perfumes, and its salts - in detergents.
This acid is a source of energy for the body, just like other fatty acids. Energy is released by oxidation of oleic fatty acids after their separation from the lipid molecule under the action of pancreatic juices. The synthesis of these acids is catalyzed by a special enzyme called oxygenase, which is present in fatty tissues and liver.
Oleic acids are obtained from olive oil during multiple crystallization after the breakdown of lipids. The quantitative and qualitative determination of oleic acid is carried out by gas-liquid chromatography.
The value of oleic acid in human nutrition.
In animal fat, oleic acid accounts for about 40% of the value of all acids, and almost in all vegetable oils - about 30%. Extremely rich in oleic acids, olive oil and peanut oil.
Oleic acid is interchangeable, despite the fact that in the human diet it is considered to be the most favorable content, which is very close to the content in reserve human fats. This is what prevents the need to rebuild the fatty acid composition of lipids coming in with food, which means that there will not be an unnecessary waste of resources and energy in the human body.
The optimal intake of oleic fatty acids with food is provided by observing formulas of a balanced diet, according to which in the human diet two thirds of fats must be an animal, and a third of vegetable origin. In this case, the diet will contain about 40% oleic acid. After heat treatment of oils that are rich in oleic acids, they are less spoiled by oxidation than other oils. This is the basis for the use of oils in the frying of some products from corn, potatoes, etc., as well as for pouring canned food.
After hydrogenation of the vegetable oil, trans-oleic acids are formed to produce fat bases for margarines. This isomer, just like oleic acids, is well absorbed by the human body, but less so in the fat depot.
Oleic acids are vital for proper metabolism.