Crossword-Solution: TRIGLYCERIDES 13 letters, 2 clues 🏆 scrabble score: 20

Practically all the oils and fats used in soap-making consist of mixtures of these compounds of glycerol with fatty acids, which invariably occur in nature in the form of triglycerides.

The principal pure triglycerides, with their formulæ and chief constants, are given in the following table:-- [Transcriber's note: Table split to fit on page better.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Glyceride.

Further, since in the glycerides there are three acid radicles to be separated from glycerol, their saponification can be supposed to take place in three successive stages, which are the converse of the formation of mono- and diglycerides in the synthesis of triglycerides from fatty acids and glycerine.

For example, C_{2}H_{5}OH + HOOC·C_{17}H_{35} = CH_{2}OOC·C_{17}H_{35} | | CHOH + HOOC·C_{17}H_{35} = CHOOC·C_{17}H_{35} + 3H_{2}O | | C_{2}H_{5}OH + HOOC·C_{17}H_{35} = CH_{2}OOC·C_{17}H_{35} It is theoretically possible, of course, to replace either one, two, or three of the (OH) groups in the glycerol with acid radicals, thus producing either mono-, di-, or triglycerides.

Most natural fats are mixtures of several different triglycerides in each of which the three (OH) groups of the glycerol has been replaced by the same organic acid radical, as in the example of stearin shown above.