triacylglycerol

The chemically correct name for ‘triglycerides’ but rarely used except by chemists and biochemists. See fat.

An ester of three fatty acids and glycerol. Triacylglycerols are the main components of animal and plant lipids. They are the most concentrated source of energy in the human body and are stored in subcutaneous fat deposits where they contribute to insulation. Fat deposits contain over 70 000 kcal of stored energy, but the triacylglycerol is not immediately accessible for muscle respiration because it must be broken down into its basic components for transport in the blood (see fat mobilization) and then oxidized before entry into the Krebs cycle (see beta oxidation).

A naturally occurring ester of three fatty acids and glycerol that is the chief constituent of fats and oils. Also called triglyceride.

TG; most fat in excess of requirements is stored in adipose tissue in this form; the systematic chemical name for triglyceride.

• t. lipase (LPS) — produced primarily by the pancreas and in smaller quantities by the gastric and intestinal mucosa. Determination of serum levels is used to detect acute necrosis of pancreatic acinar cells. Called also steapsin, lipase, triglyceride lipase.