What are triglycerides, chylomicrons, and VLDL?
Triglyceride is a fatty substance that is composed of three fatty acids. Each of these acids is attached to a glycerol molecule. Like cholesterol, triglyceride in the blood either comes from the diet or the liver. Also, like cholesterol, triglyceride cannot dissolve and circulate in the blood without combining with a lipoprotein. Thus, after a meal, the triglyceride and cholesterol that are absorbed into the intestines are packaged into round particles called chylomicrons before they are released into the blood circulation. A chylomicron is a collection of cholesterol and triglyceride that is surrounded by a lipoprotein outer coat. (Chylomicrons contain 90% triglyceride and 10% cholesterol.) There are special enzymes on the blood vessels that break up the triglyceride inside the chylomicrons, releasing fatty acids in the process. The fatty acids can either be used by the muscles as energy, or absorbed by fat cells where they are incorporated again into triglyceride that can be stored i
