Octadecatrienoic Acid

An octadecatrienoic acid is a

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s with formula , a

polyunsaturated fatty acid Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are fatty acids that contain more than one double bond in their backbone. This class includes many important compounds, such as essential fatty acids and those that give drying oils their characteristic proper ...

with whose molecule has an 18-

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...

unbranched backbone with three double bonds. The name refers to many different

structural A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such ...

and conformational isomers, that differ in the position of the double bonds along the backbone and on whether they are in ''cis'' ('Z') or ''trans'' ('E') conformation. Some isomers have considerable biological, pharmaceutical, or industrial importance, such as: *

α-Linolenic acid ''alpha''-Linolenic acid (ALA), also known as α-Linolenic acid (from Greek language, Greek ''alpha'' meaning "first" and ''linon'' meaning flax), is an omega-3 fatty acid, ''n''−3, or omega-3, essential fatty acid. ALA is found in many seeds ...

(9''Z'',12''Z'',15''Z''), found in many cooking oils * γ-Linolenic acid (6''Z'',9''Z'',12''Z''), found in the

evening primrose ''Oenothera'' is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. They are not closely related to ...

(''Oenothera biennis'') *

Pinolenic acid Pinolenic acid (often misspelled as pinoleic acid) is a fatty acid contained in Siberian Pine nuts, Korean Pine nuts and the seeds of other pines (''Pinus'' species). The highest percentage of pinolenic acid is found in Siberian pine nuts and the ...

(5''Z'',9''Z'',12''Z''), found in the seeds of pines (''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...

'' species) * Columbinic acid (5''E'',9''Z'',12''Z''), found in ''

Thalictrum ''Thalictrum'' () is a genus of 120-200 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, native mostly to temperate regions. Meadow-rue is a common name for plants in this genus. ''Thalictrum'' is a taxonom ...

'' seed oils * α-Eleostearic acid (9''Z'',11''E'',13''E''), the main component of

tung oil Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree (''Vernicia fordii''). The oil and its use are believed to have originated in ancient China and appear in the writings of Confucius from ab ...

, produced from the nuts of

tung tree ''Vernicia fordii'', usually known as the tung tree (, ''tóng'') is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family native to southern China, Myanmar, and northern Vietnam. It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 20 m tall, wit ...

(''Vernicia fordii'') * β-Eleostearic acid (9''E'',11''E'',13''E'') * Catalpic acid (9''E'',11''E'',13''Z''), found in the seeds of yellow catalpa (''Catalpa ovata'') and

southern catalpa ''Catalpa bignonioides'' is a species of ''Catalpa'' that is native to the southeastern United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Common names include southern catalpa, cigartree, and Indian-bean-tree (or Indian bean ...

(''Catalpa bignonioides'') *

Punicic acid Punicic acid (also called trichosanic acid) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, 18:3 ''cis''-9, ''trans''-11, ''cis''-13. It is named for the pomegranate, (''Punica granatum''), and is obtained from pomegranate seed oil. It has also been found in th ...

(9''Z'',11''E'',13''Z''), found in

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

seed oil * α-Calendic acid (8''E'',10''E'',12''Z''), found in the

pot marigold ''Calendula officinalis'', the pot marigold, common marigold, ruddles, Mary's gold or Scotch marigold, is a flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is probably native to southern Europe, though its long history of cultivation makes its ...

(''Calendula officinalis'') {{chemistry index Fatty acids Alkenoic acids