Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that are required by humans and other animals for normal physiological function that cannot be synthesized in the body. As they are not synthesized in the body, the essential fatty acids – alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid – must be obtained from food or from a dietary supplement. Essential fatty acids are needed for various cellular metabolic processes and for the maintenance and function of tissues and organs. These fatty acids also are precursors to vitamins, cofactors, and derivatives, including prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes, lipoxins, and others.
α-Linolenic acid, also known as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), is an n−3, or omega-3, essential fatty acid. ALA is found in many seeds and oils, including flaxseed, walnuts, chia, hemp, and many common vegetable oils.
γ-Linolenic acid or GLA is an n−6, or omega-6, fatty acid found primarily in seed oils. When acting on GLA, arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase produces no leukotrienes and the conversion by the enzyme of arachidonic acid to leukotrienes is inhibited.
Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula HOOC(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n−6) or 18:2 cis-9,12. A linoleate is a salt or ester of this acid.
Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are a family of isomers of linoleic acid. In principle, 28 isomers are possible. CLA is found mostly in the meat and dairy products derived from ruminants. The two C=C double bonds are conjugated. CLAs can be either cis-fats or trans-fats.
Fatty acid desaturases are a family of enzymes that convert saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. For the common fatty acids of the C18 variety, desaturases convert stearic acid into oleic acid. Other desaturases convert oleic acid into linoleic acid, which is the precursor to alpha-linolenic acid, gamma-linolenic acid, and eicosatrienoic acid.
Hepoxilins (Hx) are a set of epoxyalcohol metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), i.e. they possess both an epoxide and an alcohol residue. HxA3, HxB3, and their non-enzymatically formed isomers are nonclassic eicosanoid derived from acid the (PUFA), arachidonic acid. A second group of less well studied hepoxilins, HxA4, HxB4, and their non-enzymatically formed isomers are nonclassical eicosanoids derived from the PUFA, eicosapentaenoic acid. Recently, 14,15-HxA3 and 14,15-HxB3 have been defined as arachidonic acid derivatives that are produced by a different metabolic pathway than HxA3, HxB3, HxA4, or HxB4 and differ from the aforementioned hepoxilins in the positions of their hydroxyl and epoxide residues. Finally, hepoxilin-like products of two other PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acid and linoleic acid, have been described. All of these epoxyalcohol metabolites are at least somewhat unstable and are readily enzymatically or non-enzymatically to their corresponding trihydroxy counterparts, the trioxilins (TrX). HxA3 and HxB3, in particular, are being rapidly metabolized to TrXA3, TrXB3, and TrXC3. Hepoxilins have various biological activities in animal models and/or cultured mammalian tissues and cells. The TrX metabolites of HxA3 and HxB3 have less or no activity in most of the systems studied but in some systems retain the activity of their precursor hepoxilins. Based on these studies, it has been proposed that the hepoxilins and trioxilins function in human physiology and pathology by, for example, promoting inflammation responses and dilating arteries to regulate regional blood flow and blood pressure.
Calendic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid, named for the pot marigold, from which it is obtained. It is chemically similar to the conjugated linoleic acids; laboratory work suggests it may have similar in vitro bioactivities.
Punicic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, 18:3 cis-9, trans-11, cis-13. It is named for the pomegranate,, and is obtained from pomegranate seed oil. It has also been found in the seed oils of snake gourd.
ALOX15 is, like other lipoxygenases, a seminal enzyme in the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids to a wide range of physiologically and pathologically important products. ▼ Gene Function
α-Parinaric acid is a conjugated polyunsaturated fatty acid. Discovered by Tsujimoto and Koyanagi in 1933, it contains 18 carbon atoms and 4 conjugated double bonds. The repeating single bond-double bond structure of α-parinaric acid distinguishes it structurally and chemically from the usual "methylene-interrupted" arrangement of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have double-bonds and single bonds separated by a methylene unit (−CH2−). Because of the fluorescent properties conferred by the alternating double bonds, α-parinaric acid is commonly used as a molecular probe in the study of biomembranes.
15,16-Dihydroxy-α-eleostearic acid, or 15,16-Dihydroxy-(9Z,11E,13E)-9,11,13-octadecatrienoic acid, is an organic compound with formula C
18H
30O
4, or H3C-CH2-(-CH(OH)-)2(-CH=CH-)3-(-CH2-)7-(C=O)OH. It can be seen as derived from α-eleostearic acid by the replacement of two hydrogen atoms by two hydroxyl (OH) groups.
β-Eleostearic acid, or (9E,11E,13E)-octadeca-9,11,13-trienoic acid, is an organic compound with formula C
18H
30O
2 or H3C(CH2)3(CH=CH)3(CH2)7COOH. It is an all-trans isomer of octadecatrienoic acid.
Eleostearic acid is a fatty acid, one of two isomers of octadecatrienoic acid:
An octadecatrienoic acid is a chemical compound with formula C
18H
30O
2, a polyunsaturated fatty acid whose molecule has an 18-carbon unbranched backbone with three double bonds.
Protectin D1 also known as neuroprotectin D1 and abbreviated most commonly as PD1 or NPD1 is a member of the class of specialized proresolving mediators. Like other members of this class of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites, it possesses strong anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective activity. PD1 is an aliphatic acyclic alkene 22 carbons in length with two hydroxyl groups at the 10 and 17 carbon positions and one carboxylic acid group at the one carbon position.
13-Hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE) is the commonly used term for 13(S)-hydroxy-9Z,11E-octadecadienoic acid (13(S)-HODE). The production of 13(S)-HODE is often accompanied by the production of its stereoisomer, 13(R)-hydroxy-9Z,11E-octadecadienoic acid (13(R)-HODE). The adjacent figure gives the structure for the (S) stereoisomer of 13-HODE. Two other naturally occurring 13-HODEs that may accompany the production of 13(S)-HODE are its cis-trans (i.e., 9E,11E) isomers viz., 13(S)-hydroxy-9E,11E-octadecadienoic acid (13(S)-EE-HODE) and 13(R)-hydroxy-9E,11E-octadecadienoic acid (13(R)-EE-HODE). Studies credit 13(S)-HODE with a range of clinically relevant bioactivities; recent studies have assigned activities to 13(R)-HODE that differ from those of 13(S)-HODE; and other studies have proposed that one or more of these HODEs mediate physiological and pathological responses, are markers of various human diseases, and/or contribute to the progression of certain diseases in humans. Since, however, many studies on the identification, quantification, and actions of 13(S)-HODE in cells and tissues have employed methods that did not distinguish between these isomers, 13-HODE is used here when the actual isomer studied is unclear.
Coronaric acid (leukotoxin or leukotoxin A) is a mono-unsaturated, epoxide derivative of the di-unsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid (i.e. 9(Z),12(Z) octadecadienoic acid). It is a mixture of the two optically active isomers of 12(Z) 9,10-epoxy-octadecenoic acid. This mixture is also termed 9,10-epoxy-12Z-octadecenoic acid or 9(10)-EpOME (for Epoxy-Octadeca-MonoEnoic acid) and when formed by or studied in mammalians, leukotoxin.
Poxytrins or dihydroxy-E,Z,E-polyunsaturated fatty acids (dihydroxy-E,Z,E-PUFAs) are PUFA metabolites that possess two hydroxyl residues and three in-series conjugated double bonds in an E,Z,E cis–trans configuration. Poxytrins, unlike isomers with three conjugated double bonds in a different geometry, have unique platelet-inhibiting properties. The critical E,Z,E configuration may be involved in controlling platelets, and could prove useful in treating human conditions and diseases that involve pathological platelet activation.
