ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Lipids are among the major components of food of plant and animal origin. There is no precise definition available for the term lipid; however, it usually includes a broad category of compounds that have some common properties and compositional similarities. Lipids are materials that are sparingly soluble or insoluble in water, but soluble in selected organic solvents such as benzene, chloroform, diethyl ether, hexane, and methanol. Together with carbohydrates and proteins, lipids constitute the principal structural components of tissues. However, the common and unique features of lipids relate to their solubility rather than their structural characteristics [1]. Many classification systems have been proposed for lipids. From the nutrition point of view, according to the National Academy of Sciences’ report on nutrition labeling, fats and oils are defined as the complex organic molecules that are formed by combining three fatty acid molecules with one molecule of glycerol [2]. As indicated in Table 1 [3-5], lipids are generally classified as simple and compound (complex) or derived lipids according to the Bloor [3] classification.
