Polyunsaturated fat

[3] The position of the carbon-carbon double bonds in carboxylic acid chains in fats is designated by Greek letters.

Key enzymes are called fatty acid desaturases, which introduce additional double bonds.

Lipases, a family of enzymes, show potential as mild and green catalysts for the production of PUFAs from triglycerides.

One practical consequence is that polyunsaturated fatty acids have poor shelf life, owing to their tendency toward autoxidation, leading, in the case of edibles, to rancidification.

[14] Among omega-3 fatty acids, neither long-chain nor short-chain forms were consistently associated with breast cancer risk.

[15] DHA is vital for the grey matter structure of the human brain, as well as retinal stimulation and neurotransmission.

[1] Contrary to conventional advice, an evaluation of evidence from 1966–1973 pertaining to the health impacts of replacing dietary saturated fat with linoleic acid found that participants in the group doing so had increased rates of death from all causes, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease.

[18] Taking isotope-reinforced polyunsaturated fatty acids, for example deuterated linoleic acid where two atoms of hydrogen substituted with its heavy isotope deuterium, with food (heavy isotope diet) can suppress lipid peroxidation and prevent or treat the associated diseases.

[1] Expert panels in the United States and Europe recommend that pregnant and lactating women consume higher amounts of polyunsaturated fats than the general population to enhance the DHA status of the fetus and newborn.

[1] "Unsaturated" refers to the fact that the molecules contain less than the maximum amount of hydrogen (if there were no double bonds).

These materials exist as cis or trans isomers depending on the geometry of the double bond.