Docosahexaenoic acid

From Citizendium
Revision as of 11:58, 6 April 2009 by imported>Milton Beychok (Undo revision 100471724 by David E. Volk (Talk) Undid inadvertant deletion by David Volk)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is a stub and thus not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.
(CC) Image: David E. Volk
docosahexaenoic acid
IUPAC name:
Synonyms: cervonic acid, cervonate
Formula: C22H32O2

 Uses: natural nutrient

 Properties: omega-3 fatty acid

 Hazards:

Mass (g/mol): CAS #:
328.48831 6217-54-5


Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), more correctly called docosa-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z-hexaenoic acid, is a naturally occuring omega-3 fatty acid. It is a fatty acid that contains a linear chain of twenty-two carbon atoms, with double bonds occuring at six positions, all with the cis configuration. It is called an omega-3 fatty acid because from the aliphatic end of the molecule, always referred to as the omega carbon, the first double bond occurs at carbon 20, the omega-3 carbon. Like other omega-3 fatty acids, it can be found in fish. Most of the DHA in fish and other more complex organisms originates in microalgae of the genus Schizochytrium, and concentrates in organisms as it moves up the food chain.[1]

Synonyms

  • 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid
  • cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid
  • (4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (IUPAC)
  • all Z-docosahexaenoic acid
  • all cis-docosahexaenoic acid
  • Cervonic acid
  • Cervonate

References

  1. 3Dchem.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.