| Abstrakt: |
A fatty acid is a carboxylic acid, a group of compounds containing a carboxyl group and expressed as R-C(O)OH, where C(O)OH is the structure of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms that comprises the carboxyl group and R is the remainder of the molecule. Specifically, fatty acids are saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acids with a chain of non-aromatic compounds (also known as aliphatic compounds, one of two classes of compounds made up of carbon and hydrogen). Fatty acids are thus composed of just three elements in various configurations: carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Fatty acids are used as fuel by various cells in an organism, and are especially useful in this role for heart and skeletal muscle cells. When metabolized by the cell, they provide adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the coenzyme used to transfer energy intracellularly. |
