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Using examples, describe the structure of lipids and their role in organisms Lipids are a varied group of organic compounds that can be classified into fats, phospholipids, waxes and sterols.1 As they are non-polar molecules, with the exception of phospholipids, they are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents such as alcohol and ether. Lipids contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sometimes phosphorus and nitrogen. They are intermediate-sized molecules that do not achieve the giants sizes of polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids.2 The triglycerides, which act mainly as energy stores in animals and plants, are a large important group of lipids. They consist of one molecule of glycerol and three fatty acids, as shown below. Fig.1 Triglyceride3 The glycerol molecule is common to all triglycerides and so the properties of different triglycerides depend on the nature of the fatty acids. Fatty aids vary in the length of their chain and in the degree of...

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