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LA (linoleic acid)

Fatty acids are the building blocks from which all lipid materials in the human body are made. While the human diet provides a constant source of fatty acids, most are also able to be synthesized in the body through various chemical reactions that lengthen or shorten the carbon chain or alter the chemical bond structure. It has long been recognized that certain polyunsaturated fatty acids, or PUFAs, are important biological components of healthy cells. Polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, such as alpha-linoleic acid and linoleic acid, are among the fatty acids essential to mammals and human beings. Only three fatty acids (linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic) are unable to be made in vivo and must therefore be obtained from dietary sources. These fatty acids are thus referred to as essential fatty acids. Linoleic acid is the most important, it has been shown to correct most signs of clinical essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency whereas linolenic acid and arachidonic acid cannot. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play many roles in the proper functioning of all life forms. PUFAs are important components of the plasma membrane of a cell, where they are found in the form of phospholipids. PUFAs also are precursors to mammalian prostacyclins, eicosanoids, leukotrienes and prostaglandins. Additionally, PUFAs are necessary for the proper development of the infant brain, as well as for tissue formation and repair in mature mammals. Fatty acids are long-chain molecules with varying numbers of carbon atoms and varying degrees of saturation of the chemical bonds. They are chemically described by three numbers: the number of carbon atoms in the chain, the number of double bonds, and the number of carbon atoms between the terminal unsaturated bond and the methyl end of the fatty acid. Linoleic acid by this system of nomenclature is 18:2 omega 6, meaning 18 carbon atoms, two double bonds, and six carbon atoms between the terminal unsaturated bond and the methyl end. Besides linoleic acid, other isomeric octadecadienoic acids occur in nature. They are distinguished by conjugated double bonds at carbon atoms 9 and 11, 10 and 12 and 11 and 13. These isomeric octadecadienoic acids are collectively referred to in the scientific literature as conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) and have recently attracted increasing attention due to its nutritional value.

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