Linoleic acid

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Linoleic acid

Linoleic acid (LA) is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid

Omega-6 fatty acid

n-6 fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fat fatty acids which have in common a final carbon?carbon double bond#Bond order in the Fatty acid#Nomenclature position; that is, the sixth bond from the end of the fatty acid....
. It is a colorless liquid. In physiological literature, it is called 18:2(n-6). Chemically, linoleic acid is a carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group, which has the Chemical formula -COH, usually written -COOH or -CO2H....
with an 18-carbon chain and two cis
CIS

CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of nine former Soviet Union republics.CIS may also refer to:...
double bonds; the first double bond is located at the sixth carbon from the omega end.

The word linoleic comes from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
word linon (flax

Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean region to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent....
). Oleic means of, relating to, or derived from oil or of or relating to oleic acid
Oleic acid

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid fatty acid found in various animal and vegetable sources. It has the formula C18H34O2 ....
since removing the omega-6 double bond produces oleic acid.

leic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid

Fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid often with a long unbranched aliphatic tail , which is either saturation or Unsaturated compound....
used in the biosynthesis of arachidonic acid and thus some prostaglandin

Prostaglandin

A prostaglandin is any member of a group of lipid compounds that are derived enzymatically from fatty acids and have important functions in the animal body....
s.

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Encyclopedia

Linoleic acid (LA) is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid

Omega-6 fatty acid

Carboxylic acid

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
word linon (flax

Flax

In Physiology

Linoleic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid

Fatty acid

Prostaglandin

A prostaglandin is any member of a group of lipid compounds that are derived enzymatically from fatty acids and have important functions in the animal body....
s. It is found in the lipids of cell membrane

Cell membrane

The cell membrane is the interface between the cellular machinery inside the cell and the fluid outside.It is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cell ....
s. It is abundant in many vegetable oils, especially safflower

Safflower

Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual, usually with many long sharp spines on the leaves. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads and commonly, brilliant yellow, orange or red flowers which bloom in July....
and sunflower

Sunflower

The sunflower is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering head . The stem can grow as high as 3 meters , and the flower head can reach 30 cm in diameter with the "large" seeds....
oils.

To be fully utilised by the body, LA must be converted into gamma-linolenic acid

Gamma-Linolenic acid

?-Linolenic acid is an essential fatty acid found primarily in vegetable oils. It is sold as a dietary supplement for treating problems with inflammation and auto-immune diseases....
, a reaction catalysed by the enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
delta-6-desaturase

Desaturase

A Desaturase is an enzyme which removes two hydrogen atoms from an organic compound, creating a carbon/carbon Covalent bond. Desaturases are classified as...
(D6D).

Linoleic acid is a member of the group of essential fatty acids called omega-6 fatty acid

Omega-6 fatty acid

n-6 fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fat fatty acids which have in common a final carbon?carbon double bond#Bond order in the Fatty acid#Nomenclature position; that is, the sixth bond from the end of the fatty acid....
s, so called because they are an essential dietary requirement for all mammals. The other group of essential fatty acids is the omega-3 fatty acid

Omega-3 fatty acid

n-3 fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fat fatty acids that have in common a final carbon?carbon double bond#Bond order in the essential fatty acid#Nomenclature and terminology position; that is, the third bond from the methyl end of the fatty acid....
s, for example Alpha-linolenic acid

Alpha-linolenic acid

a-Linolenic acid is an organic compound found in many common Vegetable fats and oils. IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry, it is named all-cis-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid....
. Omega-6 deficiency symptoms include dry hair, hair loss, and poor wound healing. It is easy to meet the daily requirement for these fatty acids (even for people consuming low fat diets) and most people get plenty of omega-6 fatty acids in their diet by consuming approximately a tablespoon of polyunsaturated plant oils per day.

A high consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are found in most types of vegetable oil [e.g. corn oil - the most consumed oil in USA], may indeed increase the likelihood that postmenopausal women will develop breast cancer
Breast cancer

Breast cancer is a cancer that starts in the Cell of the breast in women and men. Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer and the fifth most common cause of cancer death....
. Similar effect was observed on prostate cancer
Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. It occurs when cell s of the prostate Mutation and begin to multiply out of control....
. The analysis suggested an inverse association between total polyunsaturated fatty acids [omega-6] and breast cancer risk, but individual polyunsaturated fatty acids behaved differently [from each other]. [...] a derivative of linoleic acid

Linoleic acid

Linoleic acid is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. It is a colorless liquid. In physiological literature, it is called 18:2. Chemically, linoleic acid is a carboxylic acid with an 18-carbon chain and two cis double bonds; the first double bond is located at the sixth carbon from the omega end....
[...] was inversely associated with the risk of breast cancer

Industrial uses

Linoleic acid is used in making soap

SOAP

SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks....
s, emulsifiers, and quick-drying oils. Reduction of linoleic acid yields linoleyl alcohol

Linoleyl alcohol

Linoleyl alcohol is produced by the reduction of linoleic acid....
. Linoleic acid has become increasingly popular in the beauty products industry because of its beneficial properties on the skin. Research points to linoleic acid's effective properties when applied topically on the skin, ie. anti-inflammatory, acne reduction, moisture retention properties. Noni

Noni

Morinda citrifolia, commonly known as great morinda, Indian mulberry, Mengkudu , beach mulberry, Tahitian noni, cheese fruit or noni is a tree in the Coffea family, Rubiaceae....
seed oil is abundant in linoleic acid, and a number of beauty products contain noni

Noni

Foods

Oils and foods that contain linoleic acid include corn oil

Corn oil

Corn oil is oil extracted from the cereal germ of corn . Its main use is in cooking, where its high smoke point makes refined corn oil a valuable frying oil....
(59 %),cottonseed oil

Cottonseed oil

Cottonseed oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the cotton plant after the cotton has been removed. It must be refined to remove gossypol, a naturally occurring toxin that protects the cotton plant from insect damage....
(49-58%), soybean oil (51%), safflower oil (78%), poppy seed oil (70%), hemp oil

Hemp oil

Hempseed oil is pressed from the seed of the hemp plant . This oil typically contains between 30-35% oil by weight, and is extremely high in essential fatty acids....
(50-70%), canola oil (21%), walnut oil

Walnut oil

Walnut oil is oil extracted from walnuts....
(51%), grain-fed cow milk, olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. The wild olive tree originated in Anatolia and spread from there as far as southern Africa, Australia, Japan and China....
(10%), palm oil

Palm oil

Palm oil is an edible Vegetable fats and oils derived from the fruit of the Arecaceae Elaeis oil palm. Previously the second-most widely produced edible oil, after soybean oil, 28 million tonnes were produced worldwide in 2004....
(10%), sunflower oil

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil expressed from sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetics formulations as an emollient....
(68%), lard

Lard

Lard is Domestic pig fat in both its Rendering and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a Spread similar to butter....
(10%), egg yolks (16%), spirulina

Spirulina

Spirulina may refer to:* Spirulina , a health-food supplement* Spirulina , a cyanobacterium group* Spirulina , a group of cephalopods including Spirula spirula...
, peanut oil

Peanut oil

Peanut oil is an organic material oil derived from peanuts, noted to have the slight aroma and taste of its parent legume. In the UK it is marketed as 'Groundnut Oil'....
(48%), okra

Okra

Okra , also known as ladyfinger and gumbo, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae , valued for its edible green fruits. Okra's binomial nomenclature is Abelmoschus esculentus; it is occasionally referred to by the synonym, Hibiscus esculentus L....
, rice bran oil

Rice bran oil

Rice bran oil is the vegetable oil extracted from the germ and inner husk of rice. It is notable for its very high smoke point of 490?F and its mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir frying and deep frying....
(39%), wheat germ oil

Wheat germ oil

Wheat germ oil is extracted from the Cereal germ of the wheat Seed, which makes up only 2?% by weight of the kernel. Wheat germ oil is particularly high in octacosanol - a 28 carbon long-chain saturated primary alcohol found in a number of different vegetable waxes....
(55%), grape seed oil

Grape seed oil

Not to be confused with Rapeseed oil.Grape seed oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the seeds of various varieties of List of grape varieties, an abundant by-product of winemaking....
(73%), macadamia oil

Macadamia oil

Macadamia oil is the non-volatile oil expressed from the nut meat of the macadamia tree. Macadamia oil is sometimes used in food as a frying or salad oil, and in cosmetics formulations as an emollient or fragrance fixative....
(1-3%), pistachio oil

Pistachio oil

Pistachio oil is a pressed oil, extracted from the fruit of Pistacia vera, the pistachio nut. Compared to other nut oils, it has a particularly strong flavor....
(32.7%), sesame oil

Sesame oil

Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. Besides being used as a cooking oil in South India, it is often used as a flavor enhancer in Chinese cuisine, Taiwanese cuisine, Korean cuisine, and to a lesser extent, Southeast Asian cuisine....
(45%), cocoa butter

Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil or theobroma cacao, is a pale-yellow, pure edible vegetable fat extracted from the cacao bean....
(3%), coconut oil

Coconut oil

Coconut oil, also known as coconut butter, is a tropical oil with many applications. It is extracted from copra . Coconut oil constitutes seven percent of the total export income of the Philippines, the world's largest exporter of the product....
(2%), butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
(2%).

Linoleic acid

In Physiology

Industrial uses

Foods

See also