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Most unsaturated fatty acids are long chain (C12 or greater) with C16 generally being the most common. If one compares unsaturated fats with saturated of the same carbon length, the unsaturated fatty acids are more likely to be a liquid. It is important to remember that "fats" are esters of glycerol and usually different three fatty acids. This makes it more difficult to predict what the actual precise melting point of a fat will be just based on % saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

The difference between the saturated versus unsaturated fatty acids is the absence or presence of a double bond. This is critical in the reactivity. Substances can add at the double bond and, more importantly, those unsaturated fatty acids with a double bond will undergo oxidative rancidity. It is important to remember that there are few unsaturated fatty acids less than 10 carbons long.

Updated: Saturday, December 29, 2007.