HUMAN NUTRITION

Detailed explanation-1: -Biological membranes consist of a continuous double layer of lipid molecules in which membrane proteins are embedded. This lipid bilayer is fluid, with individual lipid molecules able to diffuse rapidly within their own monolayer. The membrane lipid molecules are amphipathic. The most numerous are the phospholipids.

Detailed explanation-2: -Most plasma membranes consist of approximately 50% lipid and 50% protein by weight, with the carbohydrate portions of glycolipids and glycoproteins constituting 5 to 10% of the membrane mass.

Detailed explanation-3: -In addition to the barrier function, lipids provide membranes with the potential for budding, tubulation, fission and fusion, characteristics that are essential for cell division, biological reproduction and intracellular membrane trafficking.

Detailed explanation-4: -The main lipid biosynthetic organelle is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)16, which produces the bulk of the structural phospholipids and cholesterol (ergosterol in yeast) (Fig.