Nervonic acid is particularly abundant in the white matter of animal brains and in peripheral nervous tissue where nervonyl sphingolipids are enriched in the myelin sheath of nerve fibers.

It is classified in the sub-group of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA), which includes molecules containing more than 20 carbon atoms.

[medical citation needed] Nervonic acid occurs in seed oil of plants, where significant amounts are contained.

[4] Other sources can be the molds Neocallimastix frontalis, the bacterium Pseudomonas atlantica, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the marine diatom Nitzschia cylindrus.

that nervonic acid had the ability to promote the repair and regeneration of nerve fibers in damaged brain tissue.