lipases

Lipase is a class of enzymes that catalyzes the hydrolysis of fats. Some lipases display broad substrate scope including esters of cholesterol, phospholipids, and of lipid-soluble vitamins and sphingomyelinases; however, these are usually treated separately from "conventional" lipases. Unlike esterases, which function in water, lipases "are activated only when adsorbed to an oil–water interface". Lipases perform essential roles in digestion, transport and processing of dietary lipids in most, if not all, organisms.

==Structure and catalytic mechanism== Classically, lipases catalyse the hydrolysis of triglycerides: \begin{align} \text{triglyceride} + \ce{H2O} &\longrightarrow \text{fatty acid} + \text{diacylglycerol} \\[4pt] \text{diacylglycerol} + \ce{H2O} &\longrightarrow \text{fatty acid} + \text{monacylglycerol} \\[4pt] \text{monacylglycerol} + \ce{H2O} &\longrightarrow \text{fatty acid} + \text{glycerol} \end{align}