ABSTRACT
The term lipids normally covers fatty acids (FAs), their derivatives, and biosynthetically or functionally related substances. But in this chapter it is limited to FAs, their simple derivatives (fatty alcohols [FOHs], aldehydes, hydrocarbons), FA esters (methyl esters [FAMEs] and wax esters [WEs, esters with FOHs]), simple glycerolipids (mono-[MAGs], di-[DAGs], and tri-acylglycerols [TAGs]), complex lipids (phospho-[PLs], sphingo-[SLs], and glycolipids [GLs]), and some lipid biosynthesis intermediates, like acyl-CoA esters. Complex lipids have an additional structural component: PLs contain phosphoric acid in ester form, SLs are founded on sphingoid bases (SBs), usually with an amide-linked FA, and GLs have a sugar linkage [1].
