A diagram of the reactions of the first round of fatty acid

A diagram of the reactions of the first round of fatty acid synthesis (lipogenesis) is shown below. How many cycles of the synthesis pathway are needed to produce palmitic acid, C_15H_31COOH?

Solution

Each cycle will acetyl Co-A to the final product of the previous cycle in the formation of any saturated fatty acid. In the first step, A 4 carbon product was made.In each subsequent cycle, 2 carbons are added. Since Palmitic acid is made up of 16 carbon so 6 more cycles will be required to make palmitic acid.

the answer is 6

Reference

http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/lipid-synthesis.php