There are a number of long chain fatty acids that are important to human health (figure 1). The essential fatty acids alpha-linolenic (ALA, C18:3 (n-3)) acid and linoleic acid (LA, C18:2 (n-6)) cannot be synthesised by humans but are vital to health. The remaining long chain fatty acids can either be synthesised from ALA and LA, or can be derived from dietary sources. Eicosapentanoic acid (EPA, C20:5 (n-3)) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA, C22:6 (n-6)) are found in high concentrations in marine fish oils and have been shown to accumulate in plasma cell membranes where they increase fluidity and reduce inflammation. Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, C18:3 (n-6) is a metabolite of LA, and is itself metabolised to dihomogamma-linolenic acid (DGLA, C20:3 (n-6)) which plays an important role in reducing inflammation particularly in skin. Arachidonic acid (AA, C20:4 (n-6)) is stored in cell membranes where it can be mobilised to create proinflammatory cellular and tissue conditions that can lead to disease.
Figure 1. The long chain fatty acids important to human health.
RdB
