Glycerides meaning

These three glycerides have been usually considered the chief constituents of most oils and fats, but latterly there have been recognized as widely distributed trilinolin, the glyceride of linolic acid, and trilinolenin, the glyceride of linolenic acid.

Berthelot, and many other chemists, from whose researches it results that glycerin is a trihydric alcohol indicated by the formula C 3 H 5 (OH) 3j the natural fats and oils, and the glycerides generally, being substances of the nature of compound esters formed from glycerin by the replacement of the hydrogen of the OH groups by the radicals of certain acids, called for that reason "fatty acids."

The relationship of these glycerides to glycerin is shown by the series of bodies formed from glycerin by replacement of hydrogen by "stearyl" (C18H350), the radical of stearic acid (C18H350.

Owing to their possession of this common property, these natural fatty bodies and various artificial derivatives of glycerin, which behave in the same way when treated with alkalis, are known as glycerides.

Amongst these glycerides may be mentioned the following: Tristearin - C 3 H 5 (O C1 8 H350)3.