Question

Which of the following storage sites can yield the greatest amount of energy?

Answer 1

Answer:

Triglycerides in the adipose tissue

Explanation:

Lipids, such as fats, oils, waxes and hormones are present in the diet in the form of triglycerides or triacylglycerols. In humans, these take a large fraction of daily calorie intake and are a primary form of efficient storage of metabolic energy. Triglycerides typically comprise three fatty acid as does link to a molecule of glycerol. While they may occur and other cells, like the liver’s epithelium and skeletal muscle, in small amounts triacylglycerols are mostly found in adipose cells; their droplets tend to form large globules within the cell cytoplasm, and take up most of the sub-cellar space.

Adipocytes function as sites for triglyceride synthesis and metabolism, to produce energy molecules which are transported to other tissues via the circulatory system. During digestion, they react with water via lipase-mediated hydrolysis, to form free fatty acid molecules and monoacylglycerol; 1 gram of triglycerides= over 2x the calories contained in 1g of protein or carbohydrates.

∴these are energy-dense and contain more energy than other storage molecules, like glycogen- a multi-branched storage polysaccharide in animals comprising linked glucose molecules.