Difference Between MUFA and PUFA

Key Difference – MUFA vsPUFA

Fat is also known aslipid. It is an organic molecule and is one of the threemacronutrients. It is composed of threefatty acidmolecules attached to a centralglycerolmolecule. Hence, the fat molecule is also known as atriglyceride. Fats are a necessary component of our diet. Fat can be two types namelysaturated fats and unsaturated fatsdepending on the way thathydrogen atomsare linked to carbon atoms in the fatty acid chains. Saturated fats do not have double bonded carbon molecules in their fatty acid chain. Unsaturated fats contain one or more double bonded carbon molecules in their fatty acid chains. Unsaturated fats are two types;monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA) andpolyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA).MUFA contains one double bond in the fatty acid chain of the fat molecule. PUFA contains two or multiple double bonds in the fatty acid chain.This is thekey differencebetween MUFA and PUFA. Both MUFA and PUFA are healthy fats since they lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases and bloodcholesterol.

CONTENTS

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is MUFA
3.What is PUFA
4.Similarities Between MUFA and PUFA
5.Side by Side Comparison – MUFA vs PUFA in Tabular Form
6.Summary

What is MUFA?

Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), as the name suggests, are unsaturated fatty acids that contain one (mono) double bonded carbon atom in the fatty acid chain. MUFAs are missing with one pair of hydrogen atoms from the fatty acid chain. MUFAs are considered as healthy fats since they can lower the blood cholesterol level and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and strokes. They remain as liquids at room temperature. MUFAs are rich in vitamin E, which is anantioxidant, necessary to keep our body healthy by protecting cell damages.

MUFAs are found in food sources such as vegetable oils, olive oils, peanuts, avocado, seeds, sesame, sunflower etc. Oleic acid is an example for MUFA.

What is PUFA?

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are a type of unsaturated fatty acids that contain two or more double bonded carbon atoms in the fatty acid chain. Hence, more than one pair of hydrogen atoms is missing in PUFAs. However since PUFA are unsaturated fatty acids, they are beneficial fats similar to MUFAs.

PUFAs are also potential fats that reduce the blood cholesterol thereby, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and strokes. PUFA are liquids at room temperature. These fats are found in soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, salmon, trout, sunflower seeds, fish, meat, etc.

What are the Similarities Between MUFA and PUFA?

• MUFA和PUFA are unsaturated fatty acids.
• MUFA和PUFA are beneficial fats than saturated fats.
• MUFA和PUFA are important fat in our dietary intake.
• MUFA和PUFA provide the same amount of calories (9 calories per gram).
• MUFA和PUFA can lower theLDL cholesterol.
• MUFA和PUFA are liquids at room temperature.
• MUFA和PUFA are healthy fats that reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

什么是the Difference Between MUFA and PUFA?

MUFA vs PUFA
MUFA is a type of unsaturated fats that contain one double-bonded carbon atom in the fatty acid chain.	PUFA is another type of unsaturated fats that contain two or more double bonded carbon atoms in the fatty acid chain.
数量的双键
One double bond is found in MUFA.	Two or multiple double bonds are found in PUFA.
Missing Hydrogen Pairs in the Fatty Acid Chain
One hydrogen pair missing in the fatty acid chain of the MUFA.	Two or more hydrogen pairs are missing from the chain of PUFA.
Production of Good Cholesterol (HLD)
MUFA increases the production of good cholesterol.	PUFA lover the production of good cholesterol.
Sources
MUFA is found in vegetable oils like canola, peanut and olive oil, in nuts, etc.	PUFA is found in vegetable oils like corn, sesame, sunflower, safflower and soybean, in fatty fish, etc.
Examples
Oleic acid is an example of MUFA.	Omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acidsare examples of PUFA.

Summary –MUFA vsPUFA

Unsaturated fatty acids are considered as beneficial fats that include our diets. They are two main types; MUFA and PUFA. MUFAs are unsaturated fatty acids that contain only one carbon=carbon double bond in the fatty acid chain. PUFAs are unsaturated fatty acids with two or multiple carbon=carbon double bonds. Both MUFA and PUFA are able to lower the blood cholesterol level and reduce the risk of heart diseases and strokes. This is the difference between MUFA and PUFA.

Reference:

1.“Unsaturated Fat.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Mar. 2018.Available here
2.“What Are Mufas and Pufas?” Nutra-Life Australia, 15 Aug. 2017.Available here

Image Courtesy:

1.’Oleic-acid-based-on-xtal-1997-2D-skeletal’By Ben Mills – Own work, (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia
2.’Fat triglyceride shorthand formula’By Wolfgang Schaefer – author, (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia