Fatty acid
hideIn chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid often with a long unbranched aliphatic tail (chain), which is either saturated or unsaturated. Carboxylic acids as short as butyric acid (4 carbon atoms) are considered to be fatty acids, whereas fatty acids derived from natural fats and oils may be assumed to have at least eight carbon atoms, caprylic acid (octanoic acid), for example. The most abundant natural fatty acids have an even number of carbon atoms because their biosynthesis involves acetyl-CoA, a coenzyme carrying a two-carbon-atom group (see fatty acid synthesis).
Fatty acids are produced by the hydrolysis of the ester linkages in a fat or biological oil (both of which are triglycerides), with the removal of glycerol. See oleochemicals.
Fatty acids are aliphatic monocarboxylic acids derived from, or contained in esterified form in, an animal or vegetable fat, oil, or wax. Natural fatty acids commonly have a chain of four to 28 carbons (usually unbranched and even numbered), which may be saturated or unsaturated. By extension, the term is sometimes used to embrace all acyclic aliphatic carboxylic acids. This would include acetic acid, which is not usually considered a fatty acid because it is so short that the triglyceride triacetin made from it is substantially miscible with water and is thus not a lipid.
The blend of fatty acids exuded by mammalian skin, together with lactic acid and pyruvic acid, are probably as distinctive as fingerprints, and enable dogs to differentiate between various people. A team from Yale University have in 2009 developed the electronic equivalent of a dog's sense of smell.
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News tagged with fatty acids
Fatty acids clue for Alzheimer's
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The amount of fatty acids in the brain varies between healthy people and those with Alzheimer's according to new research from the University of Bristol, UK, supported by the Alzheimer's Research ...
Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether it's magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs) giving an army of 'therapeutically armed' white blood cells direction to invade a deadly tumour's territory, or the use of mNPs to target specific nerve channels ...
Wolves, moose and biodiversity: An unexpected connection
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Moose eat plants; wolves kill moose. What difference does this classic predator-prey interaction make to biodiversity?
Use of omega-3 with treatment for depression in heart disease patients may not provide benefit
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Contrary to the findings of some studies, new research indicates that augmenting antidepressant therapy with an omega-3 fatty acid supplement does not result in improvement in levels of depression in patients with coronary ...
Fill 'er up -- with algae
Oct 07, 2009 |
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Imagine filling up your car with fuel that comes from inexpensive algae that grow quickly, don't use up freshwater supplies and can be cultivated in areas where they won't compete with traditional food crops, ...
Mediterranean diet associated with reduced risk of depression
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 05, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (5) |
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Individuals who follow the Mediterranean dietary pattern -- rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish -- appear less likely to develop depression, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ge ...
Mercury in fish seems to raise blood pressure in spite of nutrients
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The negative impact of high amounts of methylmercury in seafood on blood pressure may outweigh the protective effects of fish nutrients, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart As ...
Research shows fish oil may protect against stroke from ruptured carotid artery plaques
Oct 01, 2009 |
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Research led by Hernan A. Bazan, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Vascular Surgery, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, has found that unstable carotid artery plaques - those in danger ...
Supplementing babies' formula with DHA boosts cognitive development
Sep 15, 2009 |
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Research has shown that children who were breast fed as infants have superior cognitive skills compared to those fed infant formula, and it's thought that this is due to an essential fatty acid in breast milk called docosahexaenoic ...
Ice cream may target the brain before your hips, study suggests
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Blame your brain for sabotaging your efforts to get back on track after splurging on an extra scoop of ice cream or that second burger during Friday night's football game.
Biologists discover 'death stench' is a universal ancient warning signal
Sep 11, 2009 |
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The smell of recent death or injury that repels living relatives of insects has been identified as a truly ancient signal that functions to avoid disease or predators, biologists have discovered.
Half of the fish consumed globally is now raised on farms, study finds
Sep 07, 2009 |
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Aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, according to a new report by an international team of researchers. And while the industry is more efficient ...
Nonagenarian researcher petitions FDA to ban trans fats
Sep 03, 2009 |
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"I request to ban trans fats from the American diet." Thus begins a 3,000-word petition to the Food and Drug Administration, the work of a man on a dogged, decades-old crusade to eradicate trans fats from ...
Dynamic changes in DNA linked to human diabetes
Sep 01, 2009 |
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A study in the September issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, may give new meaning to the adage, "You are what you eat."
How much omega-3 fatty acid do we need to prevent cardiovascular disease?
Aug 31, 2009 |
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A team of French scientists have found the dose of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) that is "just right" for preventing cardiovascular disease in healthy men. In a research report appearing in the September 2009 print issue of ...
