Fatty acid
In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, from 4 to 28. Fatty acids are usually not found in organisms, but instead as three main classes of esters: triglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesterol esters. In any of these forms, fatty acids are both important dietary sources of fuel for animals and they are important structural components for cells.
Saturation (chemistry)
The term saturation is applied similarly to the fatty acid constituents of fats, which can be either saturated or unsaturated, depending on whether the constituent fatty acids contain carbon-carbon double bonds. Tallow consists mainly of triglycerides (fats), whose major constituents are derived from the saturated stearic and monounsaturated oleic acids. Many vegetable oils contain fatty acids with one ("monounsaturated") or more ("polyunsaturated") double bonds in them.