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An omega−3 fatty acid is a fatty acid with multiple double bonds, where the first double bond is between the third and fourth carbon atoms from the end of the carbon atom chain. "Short-chain" omega−3 fatty acids have a chain of 18 carbon atoms or less, while "long-chain" omega−3 fatty acids have a chain of 20 or more.
Among omega-3 fatty acids, neither long-chain nor short-chain forms were consistently associated with breast cancer risk. High levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), however, the most abundant omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in erythrocyte ( red blood cell ) membranes, were associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. [ 15 ]
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega−3 fatty acid that is an important component of the human brain, cerebral cortex, skin, and retina. It is given the fatty acid notation 22:6(n−3). [1] It can be synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid or obtained directly from maternal milk (breast milk), fatty fish, fish oil, or algae oil.
[2] Mammals are unable to synthesize omega−3 fatty acids, but can obtain the shorter-chain omega−3 fatty acid ALA (18 carbons and 3 double bonds) through diet and use it to form the more important long-chain omega−3 fatty acids, EPA (20 carbons and 5 double bonds) and then from EPA, the most crucial, DHA (22 carbons and 6 double bonds). [2]
2 units, i.e., at intervals of 3 carbon atoms along the chain. For instance, α-linolenic acid is an 18:3 fatty acid and its three double bonds are located at positions Δ 9 , Δ 12 , and Δ 15 . This notation can be ambiguous, as some different fatty acids can have the same C : D numbers.
It is an ester formed from omega-6-arachidonic acid (AA: C 20 H 32 O 2; 20:4-n6) and glycerol (C 3 H 8 O 3). [ 12 ] Vertebrates are unable to synthesize polyunsaturated fatty acids because they do not have the necessary fatty acid desaturases to "convert oleic acid (18:1 n -9) into linoleic acid (18:2 n -6) and α-linolenic acid (18:3 n -3)". [ 7 ]
The first double bond is located at the third carbon from the methyl end of the fatty acid chain, known as the n end. Thus, α-linolenic acid is a polyunsaturated n−3 (omega-3) fatty acid. It is a regioisomer of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an 18:3 (n−6) fatty acid (i.e., a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid with three double bonds).
To illustrate the amounts of EPA and DHA in supplements, a softgel capsule containing fish oil derived from pollock might contain a total of 642 mg of total fish oil, of which 584 mg are omega−3 fatty acids, with 377 mg EPA and 158 mg DHA. 3 That same company's salmon oil softgel contains 1008 mg of total fish oil, of which 295 mg are omega ...
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related to: omega 3 to long chain 1 and 2 analysis definition