Define Introduction of Lipids?
You have studied that lipids together with carbohydrates and proteins are important as food for many animals. Lipids include neutral fats, phospholipids, cholesterol etc. The lipids are also of great biochemical importance because of their role as chief storage form of energy and in cellular structure. In addition, they are commercially important in their role in detergents, soaps and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Fats, because of high degree of concern over health implications and also its extensive use in preparation of food products, have become the area of interest in research. Various parameters are used for the assessment of the quality of fats and oils.
Some of the parameters including determination of moisture content, colour, impurities, acid value, peroxide value and tests for the presence of adulterants in fats and oils. In this, we shall learn about other tests which will help us in characterization of fats and help us assess the purity of fats and oils. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has standardized procedures available for these tests with recommended values and limits. We will be doing some of these tests to assess the purity of fats and oils in this practical. Using the combination of these tests, you will realize, you can determine the identity, the structure, the functional groups, physical properties etc. of the lipid components. Further, the practical shall also focus on methods used for estimation of cholesterol in a given solution.