Wikibooks: Structural Biochemistry/Lipids/Fatty Wax

• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Subjects: Sperm whale
• Online Access: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Structural_Biochemistry/Lipids/Fatty_Wax

= Fatty Wax = A wax is a simple lipid that is an ester of a long chain alcohol and a fatty acid. The alcohol may be made up of 12 32 carbon atoms. These waxes can be found in nature as coatings on leaves and stems of plants and prevents the plant from losing excessive amounts of water. Carnuba wax is found on the leaves of Brazilian palm trees and is used in floor and automobile waxes. Lanolin coats lamb s wool. Beeswax is secreted by bees to make cells for honey and eggs. Spermaceti wax is found in the head cavities and blubber of the sperm whale. Many of these waxes are used in ointments hand creams and cosmetics which can be seen in the ingredients lists. Paraffin wax which is used in some candles is not based upon the ester functional group but instead is a mixture of high molecular weight alkanes. Ear wax on the other hand is a mixture of phospholipids and esters of cholesterol. The waxes with their component alcohols and fatty acids are listed below Carnuba Alcohol CH 3 (CH 2 ) 28 CH 2 OH Fatty Acid CH 3 (CH 2 ) 24 COOH Beeswax Alcohol CH 3 (CH 2 ) 28 CH 2 OH Fatty Acid CH 3 (CH 2 ) 14 COOH Spermacetic Alcohol CH 3 (CH 2 ) 14 CH 2 OH Fatty Acid CH 3 (CH 2 ) 14 COOH Ester Synthesis Simple esters contain an organic acid and an alcohol. The ester functional group is of significance in the biochemical group of compounds called waxes triglycerides and phospholipids. The simplified reaction reveals the process of breaking some bonds and forming the ester and the by product water. It is as follows First the OH bond of the acid is broken as well as the H bond of the alcohol. Both join to make HOH a water molecule. Secondly the oxygen of the alcohol forms a bond to the acid at the carbon with the double bond oxygen. This forms the ester functional group. Note that the long carbon chains do not participate in the reaction but are just part of the final molecule. Lipstick Lipstick is a common form of fatty wax. It consists of a suspension of coloring agents in high molecular weight hydrocarbons waxes and/or fats. The ...