Rumenic acid, also known as bovinic acid, is a
conjugated linoleic acid
Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are a family of isomers of linoleic acid. In principle, 28 isomers are possible. CLA is found mostly in the meat and dairy products derived from ruminants. The two C=C double bonds are conjugated (i.e., separated ...
(CLA) found in the fat of
ruminant
Ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) are ungulate, hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally ...
s and in
dairy product
Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in th ...
s. It is an
omega-7 trans fatty acid
In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple e ...
. Its lipid shorthand name is cis-9, trans-11 18:2 acid. The name was proposed by Kramer ''et al.'' in 1998.
It can be considered as the principal dietary form, accounting for as much as 85-90% of the total
CLA content in dairy products.
Biosynthesis and biotransformations
Rumenic acid is produced from
vaccenic acid
Vaccenic acid is a naturally occurring trans fatty acid. It is the predominant kind of trans-fatty acid found in human milk, in the fat of ruminants, and in dairy products such as milk, butter, and yogurt.
Trans fat in human milk may depend on tr ...
by the action of unsaturase enzymes.
Rumenic acid is converted back to vaccenic acid en route to
stearic acid
Stearic acid ( , ) is a saturated fatty acid with an 18-carbon chain. The IUPAC name is octadecanoic acid. It is a waxy solid and its chemical formula is C17H35CO2H. Its name comes from the Greek word στέαρ "''stéar''", which means tallow. ...
Further reading
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumenic Acid
Fatty acids
Alkenoic acids