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In cellular metabolism, unsaturated fat molecules contain less energy (i.e., fewer calories) than an equivalent amount of saturated fat. The greater the degree of unsaturation in a fatty acid (i.e., the more double bonds in the fatty acid) the more susceptible it becomes to lipid peroxidation .
Cervonic acid (or docosahexaenoic acid) has 22 carbons, is found in fish oil, is a 4,7,10,13,16,19-hexa unsaturated fatty acid. In the human body its generation depends on consumption of omega 3 essential fatty acids (e.g., ALA or EPA), but the conversion process is inefficient. [ 22 ]
The "uncombined fatty acids" or "free fatty acids" found in the circulation of animals come from the breakdown (or lipolysis) of stored triglycerides. [18] [21] Because they are insoluble in water, these fatty acids are transported bound to plasma albumin. The levels of "free fatty acids" in the blood are limited by the availability of albumin ...
In biochemistry and nutrition, a monounsaturated fat is a fat that contains a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), a subclass of fatty acid characterized by having a double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remaining carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have more than one double bond.
For example, in humans, the desaturation of stearic acid by stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 produces oleic acid. The doubly unsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid as well as the triply unsaturated α-linolenic acid cannot be synthesized in mammalian tissues, and are therefore essential fatty acids and must be obtained from the diet. [2]: 643
Delta - indicating that the double bond is created at a fixed position from the carboxyl end of a fatty acid chain. For example, Δ9-desaturase creates a double bond between the ninth and tenth carbon atom from the carboxyl end. Omega - indicating the double bond is created at a fixed position from the methyl end of a fatty acid chain. For ...
The terms ω−3 ("omega−3") fatty acid and n−3 fatty acid are derived from the nomenclature of organic chemistry. [2] [20] One way in which an unsaturated fatty acid is named is determined by the location, in its carbon chain, of the double bond which is closest to the methyl end of the molecule. [20]
Omega-3 fatty acids have a double bond three carbons away from the methyl carbon, whereas omega-6 fatty acids have a double bond six carbons away from the methyl carbon. The illustration below shows the omega-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid. Polyunsaturated fatty acids can be classified in various groups by their chemical structure: