4.10 : Fats as Energy Storage Molecules

Triglycerides are a form of long-term energy storage molecules. They are made of glycerol and three fatty acids. To obtain energy from fat, triglycerides must first be broken down by hydrolysis into their two principal components, fatty acids and glycerol. This process, called lipolysis, takes place in the cytoplasm. The resulting fatty acids are oxidized by β-oxidation into acetyl-CoA, which is used by the Krebs cycle. The glycerol that is released from triglycerides after lipolysis directly enters the glycolysis pathway as DHAP. Because one triglyceride molecule yields three fatty acid molecules with as much as 16 or more carbons in each one, fat molecules yield more energy than carbohydrates and are an important source of energy for the human body. Triglycerides yield more than twice the energy per unit mass when compared to carbohydrates and proteins. Therefore, when glucose levels are low, triglycerides can be converted into acetyl-CoA molecules and used to generate ATP through aerobic respiration.

The breakdown of fatty acids, called fatty acid oxidation or beta (β)-oxidation, begins in the cytoplasm, where fatty acids are converted into fatty acyl-CoA molecules. This fatty acyl-CoA combines with carnitine to create a fatty acylcarnitine molecule, which helps to transport the fatty acid across the mitochondrial membrane. Once inside the mitochondrial matrix, the fatty acylcarnitine molecule is converted back into fatty acyl-CoA and then into acetyl-CoA. The newly formed acetyl-CoA enters the Krebs cycle to produce reduced coenzymes, which are then used in the electron transport chain to produce ATP.

This text is adapted from Openstax, Biology 2e, Section 24.3:Lipid metabolism