What is trans fatty acid?

Answer 1

"Trans" fats are unsaturated (with double bonds) triglycerides (fats) where the double bonds are in a trans conformation as opposed to a cis conformation. Only cis conformation is found in nature. In the cis conformation, the two carbon chains on either end of the double bond bend to the same side while in the trans conformation, the two carbon chains bend to opposite sides. Here's a diagram (the horizontal line is the double bond):

\_/ cis

\_
...\ trans (... are placeholders)

Cis double bonds introduce a bend in a fatty acid chain and therefore unsaturated fats with cis double bonds contain bends and occupy more space, leading to lower melting temperature (harder to make solid, usually liquid at room temperatures). The hydrogenation process seeks to make the saturate the double bonds to single bonds by adding hydrogen to the double bonds, making the fatty acids linear and the melting point of the fat higher (solid at room temperature for better storage, e.g. margarine). Trans double bonds are created from cis double bonds as a side-effect of the hydrogenation process, and it so happens that the trans geometry makes the fatty acid chain linear like a single bond. Therefore the hydrogenation process makes the fatty acid chains linear, whether by creating single bonds or trans double bonds, leading to the solidification of normally liquid oils (e.g. vegetable oil).
It turns out that since the trans double bond is not found in nature, the body doesn't know how to handle it. The body senses that trans fats contain double bonds, but when the body puts them to use, their biochemical properties, being opposite to the natural cis fats, cause a variety of health risks, the most significant being cardiovascular diseases.

Answer 2

fatty acids that your body can't break down due to their alternating carbon backbones.

Answer 3

Trans-fatty acids are composed of a tri-alcohol base like glycogen and 3 CH chains.

Answer 4

The molecule of a trans fatty acid contain a double bond and is straight.

Answer 5

I don't know what it means.