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III. General Features of Fatty Acid Structure

    

Overview

The elements of fatty acid structure are quite simple. There are two essential features:

1. A long hydrocarbon chain
   • The chain length ranges from 4 to 30 carbons; 12-24 is most common.
   • The chain is typically linear, and usually contains an even number of carbons.
2. A carboxylic acid group

The many fatty acids which occur naturally arise primarily through variation of chain length and degree of saturation.