Triacylglycerol formation process

Levels of free fatty acids are very low in the typical cell. The palmitate made in this process is rapidly converted to CoA esters in preparation for the formation of triacylglycerols and phospholipids.)... 

Long-chain fatty acyl-CoA is at a crossroad of various metabolic pathways. Inside the mitochondrial matrix, fatty acyl-CoA is converted to acetyl-CoA, a compound that serves as substrate for aerobic energy production by concerted action of enzymes of the citric acid cycle and respiratory chain, and as precursor for ketone-body formation. The latter process is confined to the liver. The fatty acyl residue of acyl-CoA can also be incorporated into triacylglycerols and phospholipids (Figure 3). These anabolic processes occur in the extramitochondrial cytoplasmic space (see below). 

Thus, the whole process of phenol formation may be considered analogous, in an overall metabolic sense, to fatty acid synthesis in well-fed animals (with the resultant formation and storage of triacylglycerol in adipose tissue) or ketogenesis in the liver of starved or diabetic animals. These situations have effectively adapted to the demands of an imbalanced overproduction of acetyl-CoA. 

Glycerol A trihydric alcohol to which three fatty acid molecules are estetiGed in the formation of triacylglycerols (fats and oils). Glycerol has a sweet taste and is hygroscopic (attracts water) it is commonly used as a humectant in food processing. 

Hydrolysis The process of sphtting a chemical bond between two atoms by the int roduction of water, usually adding —H to one side of the bond and —OH to the other, resulting in the formation of two separate product molecules. The digestion of proteins to amino acids, polysaccharides and disaccharides to monosaccharides and triacylglycerols to glycerol and fatty acids are all hydrolysis reactions. 

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