It is also found in the lipids from many sources such as freshwater sponges, krill, earthworms, whales, human milk fat, bovine depot fat, butterfat, or Californian petroleum.

At physiological concentrations pristanic acid is a natural ligand for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα).

In liver, pristanic acid is degraded by peroxisomal beta oxidation to propionyl-CoA.

Pristanic acid was first isolated from butterfat by R. P. Hansen and J. D. Morrison in 1964.

[1] The name of the substance is derived from pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane), the corresponding hydrocarbon.