fatty acid

fatty acid /fat·ty ac·id/ (fat´e) any straight chain monocarboxylic acid, especially those naturally occurring in fats.

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essential fatty acid  any fatty acid that cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained from dietary sources, e.g., linoleic acid and linolenic acid.

free fatty acids  (FFA) nonesterified f. a's.

monounsaturated fatty acids  unsaturated fatty acids containing a single double bond, occurring predominantly as oleic acid, in peanut, olive, and canola oils.

nonesterified fatty acids  (NEFA) the fraction of plasma fatty acids not in the form of glycerol esters.

?-3 fatty acids , omega-3 fatty acids unsaturated fatty acids in which the double bond nearest the methyl terminus is at the third carbon from the end; present in marine animal fats and some vegetable oils and shown to affect leukotriene, prostaglandin, lipoprotein, and lipid levels and composition.

?-6 fatty acids , omega-6 fatty acids unsaturated fatty acids in which the double bond nearest the methyl terminus is at the sixth carbon from the end, present predominantly in vegetable oils.

polyunsaturated fatty acids  (PUFA) unsaturated fatty acids containing two or more double bonds, occurring predominantly as linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids, in vegetable and seed oils.

saturated fatty acids  those without double bonds, occurring predominantly in animal fats and tropical oils or produced by hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids.

trans– fatty acids  stereoisomers of the naturally occurring cis– fatty acids, found in margarines and shortenings as artifacts after hydrogenation.

unsaturated fatty acids  those containing one or more double bonds, predominantly in most plant-derived fats.

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fatty acid

n.

Any of a large group of long-chain monobasic organic acids hydrolytically derived from fats.

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fatty acid,

n an organic acid produced by the hydrolysis of neutral fats.