Structural chemistry and nomenclature

Lipids occur throughout the living world in microorganisms, higher plants and animals. In this book, they will be described mainly in terms of their 

Another important feature of biological molecules is their stereochemistry. In lipids based on glycerol, for example, there is an inherent asymmetry at the central carbon atom of glycerol. Thus, chemical synthesis of phosphoglycerides yields an equal mixture of two stereoisomeric forms 

Another field in which nomenclature has grown up haphazardly is that of the enzymes of lipid metabolism. This has now been formalized to some extent under the Enzyme Commission (EC) nomenclature. The system is incomplete and not all lipid enzymes have EC names and numbers. Moreover, the system is very cumbersome for routine use and we have decided not to use it here. You will find a reference to this nomenclature in the reading list should you wish to learn about it. Enzymes that catalyse the biosynthesis of certain molecules are sometimes called synthetases or alternatively synthases. We shall standardize on the term synthetase in this book. 

---