Linolenic acid
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Linolenic acid is an 18-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acid with three double bonds. The chemical formula for this molecule is CH3(CH2CH=CH)3CH2(CH2)7COOH.[1] (https://academickids.com:443/encyclopedia/index.php/Linolenic_acid#fn_formula) The isomer called α(alpha)-linolenic acid (n-3), an Omega-3 fatty acid, is essential for all mammals. A particularly rich food source is flaxseed. A mutant strain of flax, Linola, has been developed in Australia which is low in linolenic acid and high in linoleic acid as compared to natural flax. Alpha-linolenic acid has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk through reduced cardiac arrythmias and reduced carotid arteriosclerosis; however, epidemiology has also linked α-linolenic acid with rapidly progressing prostate cancer and macular degeneration.
Linolenic_acid_shorthand_formula.PNG
Another isomer of linolenic acid is γ(gamma)-linolenic acid (n-6), an Omega-6 fatty acid which is the product of desaturation of Linoleic acid. This fatty acid is rare in food, though it is found in borage, blackcurrant, evening primrose and hemp seeds. It is sometimes taken as an oil supplement because its elongation product, di-homo-γ-linolenic acid, is an important constituent of cell membrane phospholipids in its role as precursor to the series-1 eicosonoids.
The names α-linolenic acid (n-3) and γ-linolenic acid (n-6) are trivial names for all-cis-octadeca-9,12,15-trienoic acid and all-cis-octadeca-6,9,12-trienoic acid, (18:3 n-6), respectively.[2] (https://academickids.com:443/encyclopedia/index.php/Linolenic_acid#fn_IUPACname)
References
- Template:Anb Bishop, Paul L. (2000). Pollution Prevention: Chapter 2 - Properties and Fates of Environmental Contaminants (http://www.eng.uc.edu/~pbishop/Chapter-2-Slides.ppt), instructional slides to accompany Pollution Prevention:Fundamentals and Practice, by Paul L. Bishop (ISBN 0073661473). Retrieved 2005-03-07.
- Template:Anb Joint Committee of International Union of Nutritoinal Sciences and IUPAC Commission on Food (2001). Lexicon of Lipid Nutrition (http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2001/pdf/7304x0685.pdf). Pure and Applied Chemistry 73(4), 685-744. Retrieved 2005-03-07. also used here as a general reference for sources of the substances and in the existence of Linolade:Linolensäure