Although the term lipid is sometimes used as a synonym for fats, fats are a subgroup of lipids called triglycerides. Lipids also encompass molecules such as fatty acids and their derivatives (including tri-, di-, and monoglycerides and phospholipids), as well as other sterol-containing metabolites such as cholesterol.

Lipids are a diverse group of compounds that have many key biological functions, such as structural components of cell membranes, energy storage sources and intermediates in signaling pathways. Lipids may be broadly defined as hydrophobic or amphiphilic small molecules that originate entirely or in part from two distinct types of biochemical subunits or "building blocks": ketoacyl and isoprene groups. Using this approach, lipids may be divided into eight categories: fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, saccharolipids and polyketides (derived from condensation of ketoacyl subunits); and sterol lipids and prenol lipids (derived from condensation of isoprene subunits).

Categories of lipids

Fatty acyls

Fatty acyls, a generic term for describing fatty acids, their conjugates and derivatives, are a diverse group of molecules synthesized by chain-elongation of an acetyl-CoA primer with malonyl-CoA or methylmalonyl-CoA groups in a process called fatty acid synthesis. They are made of a hydrocarbon chain that terminates with a carboxylic acid group; this arrangement confers the molecule with a polar, hydrophilic end, and a nonpolar, hydrophobic end that is insoluble in water. The fatty acid structure is one of the most fundamental categories of biological lipids, and is commonly used as a building block of more structurally complex lipids. The carbon chain, typically between four to 24 carbons long, may be saturated or unsaturated, and may be attached to functional groups containing oxygen, halogens, nitrogen and sulfur. Where a double bond exists, there is the possibility of either a cis or trans geometric isomerism, which significantly affects the molecule's molecular configuration. The more double bonds occurring in a chain, the more pronounced is the bending effect, which in turn plays an important role in the structure and function of cell membranes. Most naturally occurring fatty acids are of the cis configuration, although the trans form does exist in some natural and partially hydrogenated fats and oils.

Examples of biologically important fatty acids are the eicosanoids, derived primarily from arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, which include prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes. Other major lipid classes in the fatty acid category are the fatty esters and fatty amides. Fatty esters include important biochemical intermediates such as wax esters, fatty acid thioester coenzyme A derivatives, fatty acid thioester ACP derivatives and fatty acid carnitines. The fatty amides include N-acyl ethanolamines, such as the cannabinoid neurotransmitter anandamide.