fat

fat
fatless, adj.fatlike, adj.
/fat/, adj., fatter, fattest, n., v., fatted, fatting.
adj.
1. having too much flabby tissue; corpulent; obese: a fat person.
2. plump; well-fed: a good, fat chicken.
3. consisting of or containing fat; greasy; oily: fat gravy; fat meat.
4. profitable, as an office: a fat job on the city commission.
5. affording good opportunities, esp. for gain: a fat business contract.
6. wealthy; prosperous; rich: He grew fat on dishonest profits.
7. big, broad, or extended; thick: a fat sheaf of bills.
8. plentiful; abundant: a fat supply of food.
9. plentifully supplied: a fat larder; a fat feast.
10. dull; stupid: fat clumsiness of manner.
11. abounding in a particular element: Fat pine is rich in resin.
12. (of paint) having more oil than pigment. Cf. lean2 (def. 6).
13. (of coal) highly bituminous; rich in volatile hydrocarbons.
14. Ceram. long1 (def. 25).
15. fertile, as land: Everything grows in this fat soil.
16. a fat chance, Slang. a very slight chance; small probability: A fat chance he has of winning the title!
17. a fat lot, Slang. little or not at all: A fat lot they care about anyone else's troubles!
n.
18. any of several white or yellowish greasy substances, forming the chief part of adipose tissue of animals and also occurring in plants, that when pure are colorless, odorless, and tasteless and are either solid or liquid esters of glycerol with fatty acids; fats are insoluble in water or cold alcohol but soluble in ether, chloroform, or benzene: used in the manufacture of soap, paints, and other protective coatings and in cooking.
19. animal tissue containing much of this substance; loose flesh; flabbiness: to have rolls of fat around one's waist.
20. the richest or best part of anything.
21. obesity; corpulence: In his later years, he inclined to fat.
22. Slang. especially profitable or advantageous work.
23. an overabundance or excess; superfluity.
24. action or lines in a dramatic part that permit an actor to display abilities.
25. Also, phat. Also called lift. Typesetting. matter that can be composed easily and profitably, esp. from standing type, illustrations, or the like: fat work. Cf. lean2 (def. 11).
26. chew the fat. See chew (def. 9).
27. the fat is in the fire,
a. an irrevocable action or chain of events has been started; the die is cast: Now that they have been given an ultimatum, the fat is in the fire.
b. the decision, whether good or bad, has been made.
c. the crisis is imminent.
28. the fat of the land, the best or richest of anything obtainable: to live on the fat of the land.
v.t., v.i.
29. to make or become fat.
[bef. 1000; ME; OE faett, orig. ptp. of faetan to cram, load, adorn; c. Goth fetjan to adorn; akin to VAT]
Syn. 1. portly, adipose, pudgy. See stout. 3. unctuous, fatty. 4. lucrative, remunerative. 8. copious. 10. sluggish. 15. rich, fruitful, productive.
Ant. 1. thin. 3. lean. 10. clever. 15. sterile, barren.

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I
Any organic compound of plant or animal origin that is not volatile, does not dissolve in water, and is oily or greasy.

Chemically, fats are identical to animal and vegetable oils, consisting mainly of triglycerides (esters of glycerol with fatty acids). Fats that are liquid at room temperature are called oils. Differences in melting temperature and physical state depend on the saturation of the fatty acids and the length of their carbon chains. The glycerides may have only a few different component fatty acids or as many as 100 (in butterfat). Almost all natural fats and oils incorporate only fatty acids that are constructed from two-carbon units and thus contain only even numbers of carbon atoms. Natural fats such as corn oil have small amounts of compounds besides triglycerides, including phospholipids, plant steroids, tocopherols (vitamin E), vitamin A, waxes, carotenoids, and many others, including decomposition products of these constituents. Sources of fats in foods include ripe seeds and some fruits (e.g., corn, peanuts, olives, avocados) and animal products (e.g., meat, eggs, milk). Fats contain more than twice as much energy (calories) per unit of weight as proteins and carbohydrates. Digestion of fats in foods, often partial, is carried out by enzymes called lipases. The breakdown products are absorbed from the intestine into the blood, which carries microscopic fat droplets reconstituted from digested fats (or synthesized in cells) to sites of storage or use. Fats are readily broken down
primarily into glycerol and fatty acids
by hydrolysis, a first step for many of their numerous industrial uses. See also lipid.
II
(as used in expressions)
Charles the Fat
Louis the Fat
Navarro Fats
Waller Fats

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Introduction
 any substance of plant or animal origin that is nonvolatile, insoluble in water, and oily or greasy to the touch. Fats are usually solid at ordinary temperatures, such as 25° C (77° F), but they begin to liquefy at somewhat higher temperatures. Chemically, fats are identical to animal and vegetable oils, consisting primarily of glycerides, which are esters formed by the reaction of three molecules of fatty acids with one molecule of glycerol (see oil).

      Together with oils, fats comprise one of the three principal classes of foodstuffs, the others being proteins and carbohydrates. Nearly all cells contain these basic substances. Fat is sometimes called nature's storehouse of energy because on a weight basis it contains more than twice as much energy as does carbohydrate or protein. It is probably as storehouses or depots of concentrated energy that fats appear in plant reproductive organs, such as pollen grains and seeds. It is this fat that humans recover from plants for use as food or in industry. The fat content of the nonreproductive tissue of plants is usually so low that recovery is impracticable. Yet much dietary fat comes from natural foodstuffs without being separated from the other plant materials with which it occurs. The proportion of fat in these foodstuffs varies from 0.1 percent in white potatoes to 70 percent in some nut kernels.

      More than 90 percent of the fat recovered in the world is obtained from about 20 species of plants and animals. Most of this separated fat is used eventually as human food. Consequently, fat technology deals largely with the separation and processing of fats into forms acceptable to the various dietary customs in the countries in which they are to be used. (For further information on the subject, see Food Processing.)

Uses of fats.
      Humans have used many natural fats for both food and nonfood purposes since prehistoric times. The Egyptians, for example, used olive oil as a lubricant in moving heavy building materials. They also made axle greases from fat and lime, mixed with other materials, as early as 1400 BC. Homer mentions oil as an aid to weaving, and Pliny talks about hard and soft soaps. Candles and lamps using oil or tallow have been used for thousands of years.

      The commercial uses of fats have increased in number as the understanding of the chemical nature of fats has expanded. C.W. Scheele (Scheele, Carl Wilhelm), a Swedish chemist, discovered in 1779 that glycerol could be obtained from olive oil by heating it with litharge (lead monoxide), but it was not until about 1815 that the French chemist Michel-Eugène Chevreul (Chevreul, Michel-Eugène) (1786–1889) demonstrated the chemical nature of fats and oils. A few years later the separation of liquid acids from solid acids was accomplished. margarine was invented by the French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, who in 1869 won a prize offered by Napoleon III for a satisfactory butter substitute. The modern hydrogenation process had its origin in research in the late 19th century that led to the establishment of the vegetable-oil-shortening industry and a variety of industrial applications.

      After World War I, organic chemists gained extensive knowledge first of fatty-acid (fatty acid) compositions and then of glyceride compositions. Growth of the chemical industry stimulated a simultaneous expansion of the use of fats as raw materials and as intermediates for scores of new chemicals. The modern application of many organic chemical reactions to fats and fatty acids formed the foundation of a new and rapidly growing fatty-chemicals industry.

Functions in plants and animals (animal development).
      The universal distribution of fats in plant and animal tissues (tissue) suggests physiological roles that go beyond their function as a fuel supply for the cells. In animals the most evident function of fats is that of a food reserve to supply energy (through subsequent enzymatic oxidation—that is, combination with oxygen catalyzed by enzymes (enzyme)). The storage of fat in vegetable seeds can be explained similarly on the basis that it is a food reserve for the embryo. It is not so easy, however, to account for the presence of large quantities of fat in such fruits as olives, avocados, and palms; much of this fat is probably lost or destroyed before the seed germinates. Fats fulfill other valuable functions in plants and animals. Subcutaneous deposits of fat insulate animals against cold because of the low rate of heat transfer in fat, a property especially important for animals living in cold waters or climates, e.g., whales, walruses, and bears.

      Fats that have been separated from tissues always contain small quantities of closely associated nonglyceride lipids such as phospholipids, sterols, vitamins A, D, and E, and various carotenoid pigments. Many of these substances are vital emulsifying agents or growth factors. Others function as agents that prevent deterioration of fats in plant tissues and seeds caused by destructive combination with oxygen. These minor constituents probably are present in the fats as a result of their physical solubility, and thus fats serve as carriers for these substances in animal diets.

      Many animals require some fat containing one or more of the essential fatty acids (linoleic, arachidonic, and to a limited extent linolenic) to prevent the physical symptoms of essential-fatty-acid deficiency manifested by skin lesions, scaliness, poor hair growth, and low growth rates. These essential fatty acids must be supplied in the diet since they cannot be synthesized in the body.

      The prostaglandins (prostaglandin), discovered by the Nobel laureate U.S. von Euler of Sweden, are hormonelike compounds derived from arachidonic acid. These biologically active fatty acids, which are present in very minute quantities in animal tissues, apparently are involved in contraction of smooth muscles, enzyme activity in lipid metabolism, function of the central nervous system, regulation of pulse rate and blood pressure, function of steroid hormones, fat mobilization in adipose tissue, and a number of other vital functions.

Synthesis and metabolism in living organisms.
      Formation of fats in seeds (seed and fruit) and fruits (fruit) occurs late in the ripening process. Sugars and starches predominate in fruits, seeds, and sap in the unripe condition. These apparently are converted by enzymes during the maturing process to fatty acids and glycerol, which then form glycerides. Studies with radioactive-tracer techniques confirm the synthesis of fats from carbohydrates in both plants and animals. In fact, it has been shown by the use of labeled acetic acid, or acetate, ions that any food source from which acetate ions may form as an intermediate metabolite can be converted to fatty acids in at least some animal tissues. It has been further demonstrated that acetate can be converted to cholesterol in animal tissue. It is noteworthy that, almost without exception, natural fats contain only fatty acids with an even number of carbon atoms. These acids apparently are built up of two-carbon units. Although the preponderance of fatty acids with 18 carbon atoms has suggested the hypothesis that fats are derived from three molecules of glucose (a carbohydrate with six carbon atoms), later discoveries through tracer studies have indicated the buildup from the two-carbon acetate units. Since acetate can be formed from fats, proteins, or carbohydrates by reaction with oxygen, it is thus possible for fats to be synthesized indirectly from any of these sources. The formation of multiple linkages between carbon atoms (double bonds) in the fats synthesized from acetate is accomplished (probably in the liver) by addition or removal of hydrogen atoms through the action of enzymes.

      Utilization of stored fat by plant embryos has not been entirely explained, but it is known that in germinating embryos the glycerides are hydrolyzed—that is, decomposed to glycerol and fatty acids—by lipolytic (fat-splitting) enzymes. These may pass through oxidative processes to form intermediate metabolic products that can be oxidized further to carbon dioxide and water or can be converted to carbohydrates, which may then pass through the many steps of carbohydrate metabolism.

      In animal digestive tracts, the fats in foods are emulsified with digestive secretions containing lipase, an enzyme that hydrolyzes at least part of the glycerides. The glycerol, partial glycerol esters, fatty acids, and some glycerides are then absorbed through the intestine and are at least partially recombined to form glycerides and phospholipids. The fat, in the form of microscopic droplets, is transported in the blood to points of use or storage. The fat of an individual animal may vary somewhat according to the composition of fats in the food.

      Fats used by or stored in animal tissues come from two sources—enzymatic synthesis and diet. The fat synthesized from carbohydrates intermediates followed by enzymatic resynthesis to form the fat characteristic of the animal, but some dietary fatty acids are absorbed directly and recombined in the body fat.

      The manner in which fat reserves are circulated to the organs where metabolism occurs is incompletely understood. Radioactive-tracer studies provide some insight into this complicated process. It has long been established that when mobilization of reserve fat takes place the stream is directed primarily to the liver, where fatty acids may be partially desaturated; i.e., hydrogen is removed from the fatty-acid chains to produce unsaturated or double bonds between carbon atoms. This apparently facilitates subsequent oxidation in other tissues. Fatty acids also may be oxidized directly in the various tissues as well as in the liver. Fatty-acid metabolism is presumed to be by oxidation in successive two- and four-carbon stages. Intermediate products could be acetoacetate and acetate groups. If the mechanism is faulty, acetone is formed and excreted (acetonuria). The final products of normal metabolism are carbon dioxide and water.

Chemical composition of fats.
      Although natural fats consist primarily of glycerides, they contain many other lipids in minor quantities. corn oil, for example, may contain glycerides plus phospholipids, glycolipids, phosphoinositides (phospholipids containing inositol), many isomers of sitosterol and stigmasterol (plant steroids), several tocopherols (vitamin E), vitamin A, waxes, unsaturated hydrocarbons such as squalene, and dozens of carotenoids and chlorophyll compounds, as well as many products of decomposition, hydrolysis, oxidation, and polymerization of any of the natural constituents.

 Fatty acids contribute from 94 to 96 percent of the total weight of various fats and oils. Because of their preponderant weight in the glyceride molecules and also because they comprise the reactive portion of the molecules, the fatty acids influence greatly both the physical and chemical character of glycerides. Fats vary widely in complexity; some contain only a few component acids, and at the other extreme more than 100 different fatty acids have been identified in butterfat, although many are present in only trace quantities. Most of the oils and fats are based on about a dozen fatty acids (see Table 1—>). In considering the composition of a glyceride it is particularly important to distinguish between the saturated acids (acids containing only single bonds between carbon atoms, such as palmitic or stearic), with relatively high melting temperatures, and the unsaturated acids (acids with one or more pairs of carbon atoms joined by double bonds, such as oleic or linoleic), which are low melting and chemically much more reactive.

 In the series of saturated acids, the melting point increases progressively from below room temperature for the acids of lower molecular weight to high melting solids for the longer chain acids. Unsaturated acids may contain up to six double bonds, and as unsaturation increases the melting points become lower. Glycerides based predominantly on unsaturated acids, such as soybean oil, are liquids; and glycerides containing a high proportion of saturated acids, such as beef tallow, are solids. The carbon atoms in fatty acids are arranged in straight chains, and the first site of unsaturation (double bond) in most of the unsaturated acids appears between the ninth and tenth carbon atoms, starting the counting from the terminal carboxyl group (see Table 2—>). The specificity of location of unsaturation in fatty acids obtainable from both plant and animal sources suggests that all are formed by a common enzymatic dehydrogenation mechanism.

      Since the glycerides, which make up 90 to 99 percent of most individual fats or oils of commerce, are esters formed by three fatty-acid molecules combining with one molecule of glycerol, they may differ not only in the fatty acids that they contain but also in the arrangement of the fatty-acid radicals on the glycerol portion. Simple triglycerides are those in which each molecule of glycerol is combined with three molecules of one acid; e.g., tripalmitin, C3H5(OCOC15H31)3, the glyceryl ester of palmitic acid, C15H31COOH. Only a few of the glycerides occurring in nature are of the simple type; most are mixed triglycerides; i.e., one molecule of glycerol is combined with two or three different fatty acids. Thus stearodipalmitin, C3H5(OCOC15H31)2(OCOC17H35), contains two palmitic acid radicals and one stearic acid radical. Similarly, oleopalmitostearin, C3H5(OCOC15H31)(OCOC17H33)(OCOC17H35), contains one radical each of oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Each mixed triglyceride containing three different acid radicals may exist in three different isomeric forms, because any of the three can be linked with the centre carbon of the glycerol molecule. A mixed triglyceride containing two radicals of the same acid and one radical of another acid has only two isomeric forms.

      Monoglycerides and diglycerides are partial esters of glycerol and have one or two fatty-acid radicals, respectively. They are seldom found in natural fats except as the products of partial hydrolysis of triglycerides (triglyceride). They are easily prepared synthetically, however, and have important applications mainly because of their ability to aid in the formation and stabilization of emulsions. As constituents of shortening in baked products they increase product volumes, improve tenderness, and retard staling. They also have technical importance as intermediates in the manufacture of coatings and resins.

Physical and chemical properties.
      Fats (and oils) may be divided into animal and vegetable fats according to source. Further, they may be classified according to their degree of unsaturation as measured by their ability to absorb iodine at the double bonds. This degree of unsaturation determines to a large extent the ultimate use of the fat.

      Liquid fats (i.e., vegetable and marine oils) have the highest degree of unsaturation, while solid fats (vegetable and animal fats) are highly saturated. Solid vegetable fats melting between 20° and 35° C (68° and 95° F) are found mainly in the kernels and seeds of tropical fruits. They have relatively low iodine values and consist of glycerides containing high percentages of such saturated acids as lauric, myristic, and palmitic. Fats from fruits of many members of the palm family, notably coconut and babassu oils, contain large amounts of combined lauric acid. Most animal fats are solid at ordinary temperatures; milk fats (butterfat) are usually characterized by the presence of short-chain carboxylic acids (butyric, caproic, and caprylic); and marine oils contain a large number of very long chain highly unsaturated acids containing up to six double bonds and up to 24 or even 26 carbon atoms.

      Fats are practically insoluble in water and, with the exception of castor oil, are insoluble in cold alcohol and only sparingly soluble in hot alcohol. They are soluble in ether, carbon disulfide, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, petroleum benzin, and benzene. Fats have no distinct melting points (melting point) or solidifying points because they are such complex mixtures of glycerides, each of which has a different melting point. Glycerides, further, have several polymorphic forms with different melting or transition points.

      Fats can be heated to between 200° and 250° C (392° and 482° F) without undergoing significant changes provided contact with air or oxygen is avoided. Above 300° C (572° F) fats may decompose, with the formation of acrolein (the decomposition product of glycerol), which imparts the characteristic pungent odour of burning fat. Hydrocarbons also may be formed at high temperatures.

      Fats are hydrolyzed readily. This property is used extensively in the manufacture of soaps and in the preparation of fatty acids for industrial applications. Fats are hydrolyzed by treatment with water alone under high pressure (corresponding to a temperature of about 220° C [428° F]) or with water at lower pressures in the presence of caustic alkalies, alkaline-earth metal hydroxides, or basic metallic oxides that act as catalysts. Free fatty acids and glycerol are formed. If sufficient alkali is present to combine with the fatty acids, the corresponding salts (known popularly as soaps (soap and detergent)) of these acids are formed, such as the sodium salts (hard soap) or the potassium salts (soft soaps).

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Universalium. 2010.

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