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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.
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]
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 ...
The proportion of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in a diet may have metabolic consequences. [2] Unlike omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids, omega-9 fatty acids are not classed as essential fatty acids because they can be created by the human body from monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids, and are therefore not essential in the diet.
A "Sprecher's shunt" hypothesis, proposed in 1991, postulates that EPA is twice elongated to 24:5 ω-3, then desaturated to 24:6 ω-3 (via delta 6 desaturase) in the mitochondria, then shortened to DHA (22:6 ω-3) via beta oxidation in the peroxisome. The hypothesis was accepted in the absence of an identified Δ4-desaturase in mammals prior to ...
16- and 18-carbon omega−7 unsaturated fatty acids are known to be converted into 18- or 20-carbon highly unsaturated fatty acids in the body by nonselective desaturating enzymes. [4] The same enzymes also act on omega−3, omega−6, and omega−9 fatty acids. As a result, while proportions of individual highly unsaturated fatty acids may ...
Some omega−9 fatty acids are common components of animal fat and vegetable oil. Two omega−9 fatty acids important in industry are: Oleic acid (18:1, n−9), which is a main component of olive oil, macadamia oil and other monounsaturated fats; Erucic acid (22:1, n−9), which is found in rapeseed, wallflower seed, and mustard seed.
The evening primrose flower (O. biennis) produces an oil containing a high content of γ-linolenic acid, a type of omega−6 fatty acid.Omega−6 fatty acids (also referred to as ω−6 fatty acids or n−6 fatty acids) are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that share a final carbon-carbon double bond in the n−6 position, that is, the sixth bond, counting from the methyl end.