The Lipid Metabolism section contains posts/pages on the basic biochemistry of biological lipids, the biosynthesis and catabolism of fatty acids, the synthesis of triglycerides, the synthesis of cholesterol, the synthesis and metabolism of the lipoproteins, the synthesis of bile acids, the synthesis of complex bioactive lipids such as the various eicosanoids, the clinically relevant omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and diseases that result from defects in the various pathways of lipid synthesis and catabolism. Additional posts/pages included in this section cover metabolism of the endocannabinoids and the metabolism of ethanol (alcohol).
Last Updated: March 4, 2025 Intestinal Uptake of Lipids In order for the body to make use of dietary lipids, they must first be absorbed from the small intestine. A complete discussion of lipid digestion and absorption is presented in the Digestion and Digestive...
Last Updated: March 12, 2025 Bile Acid Synthesis and Utilization The end products of cholesterol utilization are the bile acids. Indeed, the synthesis of the bile acids is the major pathway of cholesterol catabolism in mammals. Although several of the...
Last Updated: February 19, 2025 Introduction to Cholesterol Metabolism Cholesterol is an extremely important biological molecule that has roles in membrane structure as well as being a precursor for the synthesis of the steroid hormones, the bile...
Last Updated: March 6, 2025 Lipid Digestion Utilization of dietary lipids requires that they first be absorbed through the intestine. As these molecules are oils they would essentially be insoluble in the aqueous intestinal environment. Dietary lipid digestion and...
Last Updated: February 28, 2025 Introduction to the Eicosanoids The principal eicosanoids (from Ancient Greek eíkosi for 20) of biological significance to humans are a group of bioactive lipid molecules derived from the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), arachidonic...
Last Updated: March 2, 2025 Major Roles of Biological Lipids Biological molecules that are insoluble in aqueous solution and soluble in organic solvents are classified as lipids. Lipids in biological systems include fats, sterols, fat soluble vitamins, phospholipids,...