ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Phospholipids can generally be regarded as asymmetrical phosphoric acid diesters comprising chemical bonds of three types: C-C bonds, ester bonds, and phosphoester bonds. While hydrolysis is inherent to the ester and phosphoester bonds, other physical and chemical reactions associated with phospholipids are dictated by the kind of head group and by the chain length and degree of unsaturation of the constituent aliphatic moieties. These activities constitute the focus of this chapter. In addition, the ramifications of phospholipids’ amphiphilic nature and their propensity to aggregate as bilayers will be discussed in relation to their functional role in foods.
