Editing Triglyceride (section)

==Nomenclature==
===Common fat names===
Fats are often named after their source, e.g., [[olive oil]], [[cod liver oil]], [[shea butter]], [[tail fat]]. Some have traditional names of their own, e.g.,  butter, lard, [[ghee]], and [[margarine]]. The composition of these natural fats are somewhat variable.  The [[oleic acid]] component in [[olive oil]] can vary from 64% to 86%.

===Chemical fatty acid names===
Triglycerides are then commonly named as esters of those acids, as in glyceryl 1,2-dioleate 3-palmitate, the name for a brood pheromone of the honey bee.<ref name=koen1983>N. Koeniger and H. J. Veith (1983): "Glyceryl-1,2-dioleate-3-palmitate, a brood pheromone of the honey bee (''Apis mellifera'' L.)". ''Experientia'', volume 39, pages 1051–1052 {{doi | 10.1007/BF01989801}}</ref>  Where the fatty acid residues in a triglyceride are all the same, names like [[olein]] (for glyceryl trioleate) and [[palmitin]] (for glyceryl tripalmitate) are common.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

===IUPAC===
In the [[International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]]'s (IUPAC's) general [[IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry|chemical nomenclature for organic compounds]],<ref>{{cite book|title = Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry: IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names, 2013|year = 2014|publisher = [[Royal Society of Chemistry]]|author1 = Henri A. Favre |author2 = Warren H. Powell |collaboration = International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry|isbn = 978-1-84973-306-9|location = Cambridge, England|url = https://iupac.qmul.ac.uk/BlueBook/PDF/BlueBookV2.pdf|oclc = 865143943}}</ref> any organic structure can be named by starting from its corresponding [[hydrocarbon]] and then specifying differences so as to describe its structure completely. For fatty acids, for example, the position and orientation of carbon-carbon double bonds is specified counting from the [[carboxyl functional group]]. Thus, oleic acid is formally named (9''Z'')-octadec-9-enoic acid, which describes that the compound has:
* an 18 carbon chain ("octadec-") with the carbon of the carboxyl ("-oic acid") given the number 1
* all carbon-carbon bonds are single except for the double bond then joins carbon 9 ("9-en") to carbon 10
* the chain connects to each of the carbons of the double bond on the same side (hence, ''cis'', or "(9''Z'')" - the "''Z''" being an abbreviation for the German word [[zusammen]], meaning together).
IUPAC nomenclature can also handle branched chains and derivatives where hydrogen atoms are replaced by other chemical groups.  Triglycerides take formal IUPAC names according to the rule governing naming of esters.  For example, the formal name propane-1,2,3-tryl 1,2-bis((9''Z'')-octadec-9-enoate) 3-(hexadecanoate) applies to the pheromone informally named as glyceryl 1,2-dioleate-3-palmitate,<ref name=koen1983 /> and also known by other common names including 1,2-dioleoyl-3-palmitoylglycerol, glycerol dioleate palmitate, and 3-palmito-1,2-diolein.

===Fatty acid code===
A notation specific for fatty acids with unbranched chain, that is as precise as the IUPAC one but easier to parse, is a code of the form "{N}:{D} ''cis''-{CCC} ''trans''-{TTT}", where {N} is the number of carbons (including the carboxyl one), {D} is the number of double bonds, {CCC} is a list of the positions of the ''cis'' double bonds, and {TTT} is a list of the positions of the ''trans'' bonds.  Either or both ''cis'' and ''trans'' lists and their labels are omitted if there are no multiple bonds with that geometry.  For example, the codes for stearic, oleic, elaidic, and vaccenic acids are "18:0", "18:1 ''cis''-9", "18:1 ''trans''-9", and "18:1 ''trans''-11", respectively. [[Catalpic acid]], (9''E'',11''E'',13''Z'')-octadeca-9,11,13-trienoic acid according to IUPAC nomenclature, has the code "18:3 ''cis''-13 ''trans''-9,11".{{cn|date=November 2024}}