Question

The triglycerides of which of the following unsaturated fatty acids are not present in oils and fats?
A.Oleic acid
B.Linoleic acid
C.Linolenic acid
D.Maleic

Answer 1

Hint: Oils and fats are triglycerides where the monocarboxylic acids or fatty acids are long chain compounds. These long chain compounds usually contain about 12 – 20 carbon atoms. Also, the acid needs to be a monocarboxylic acid.

Complete Step-by-Step Answer:
Before we move forward with the solution of the given question, let us first understand some important basic concepts.
Triglycerides can be basically understood as the molecules which have an ester in which the alcohol glycerol is linked with one or more different fatty acids. These molecules are named according to the fatty acids that are present in the molecules. There are three basic types of fatty acids present in triglycerides, viz. saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
To put this in simpler terms, a triglyceride is a compound which consists of 3 ester chains linked with one another, where each ester chain has one molecule of the same fatty acid.
The molecular structures of the options given to us are:
Oleic acid:

Linoleic acid:

Linolenic acid:

Maleic acid:

From all the options given to us, maleic acid has the shortest chain with only 5 carbon atoms, and on top of that, it is a dicarboxylic acid. Hence, maleic acid is not present in the molecular structures of oils and fats.

Hence, Option D is the correct option

Note: Triacylglycerols are formed by linking fatty acids with an ester linkage to three alcohol groups in glycerol. Triacylglycerols are the form in which fat energy is stored in adipose tissue. Triacylglycerols are sometimes referred to as triglycerides.