Are the carbon–carbon double bonds in naturally occurring fatty acids primarily cis or trans?

Question

Accepted Answer

Welcome back, everyone. True or false. Naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids primarily contain trans double bonds. Let's recall that we have two types of double bonds. When it comes to configuration, we have cis and trans. And we have to recall that in cis double bonds, the alky substi are on the same side of the double bond. While in a trans double bond, the alkyl substi are on opposite sides of the double bond. We want to evaluate the given statements. And first of all, we're going to state that it is false. And now let's explain why. Well, basically naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids primarily contain cysts double bonds. And there are two main reasons, a enzymatic processes. That's the first reason the enzymes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis typically produce says double bonds. Now, the second reason is biological function. Now, since bonds create a kink in the fatty acid chain, which is important for membrane fluidity and other biological functions, those would be just two reasons why this statement is true. Overall, it is useful for us to remember that sis double bonds are essentially primarily found in unsaturated fatty acids. Now, we don't generally observe trans double bonds. Unless we have partial hydrogenation of, let's say vegetable oils, right, then we can observe trans double bonds. But generally we observe cis double bonds. And therefore, we can conclude that the answer to this problem would be false. This statement is false and we can correct it by changing trans into cis. Then it would be correct. Thank you for watching.

Are the carbon–carbon double bonds in naturally occurring fatty acids primarily cis or trans?

Verified Solution

Key Concepts

Cis and Trans Isomerism

Fatty Acids

Biological Importance of Fatty Acids