Triglycerides = 3 fatty acids + glycerol
Glycerol (also named glycerin or glycerine) has the structural formula of:
HOCH2-CH2-CH(OH)-CH2-CH2OH
And thus you can see the three alcohol groups to which the fatty acid chains are attached to.
Glycerol is the alcohol in a triglyceride molecule that serves as the backbone to which three fatty acid chains attach. The process of attaching the fatty acids to the glycerol molecule forms a triglyceride, a type of lipid that is commonly found in fats and oils.
They attach, via ester bonds, to the glycerol (glycerine) backbone.
There is no alcohol in a triglyceride, but one is produced when it is hydrolysed. This alcohol is glycerol.
triglyceride + 3H2O --> glycerol + 3 fatty acid chains
A triglyceride molecule is typically in the shape of a long, flat, and zig-zag structure due to its three fatty acid chains attached to a glycerol backbone.
Glycerol
A simple triglyceride contains three identical acyl chains, whereas a mixed triglyceride has more than one type acyl chain.
The monomers of triglyceride are glycerol and fatty acids. Glycerol is a three-carbon molecule with hydroxyl groups, and fatty acids are long hydrocarbon chains with a carboxylic acid group at one end. When these two components combine through dehydration synthesis, they form a triglyceride molecule with three fatty acid chains attached to the glycerol backbone.
Fats are composed of fatty acids, which are chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. They also contain glycerol, a type of alcohol that connects the fatty acids together to form triglycerides. Different types of fats can vary in the length and saturation of their fatty acid chains.
Triglycerides are made of 3 fatty acid chains and a glycerol head.
A lipid has three long chains of fatty acids and one molecule of glycerol
Glycerol forms the backbone of a triglyceride. Three free-swinging fatty acid chains bond to it, forming a triglyceride, the most common type of lipid.