This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Eicosatetraenoic acid is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Eicosatetraenoic acid, ETA, designates any straight chain 20:4 fatty acid.
- See essential fatty acid#Nomenclature for nomenclature.
Two isomers, both of them essential fatty acids, are of particular interest:
- all-cis 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid is an ω-6 fatty acid with the trivial name arachidonic acid. It is formed by a desaturation of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid 20:4 ω-6.
- all-cis 8,11,14,17-eicosatetraenoic acid is an ω-3 fatty acid. It is an intermediary between stearidonic acid (18:4 ω-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 ω-3)
Some chemistry sources define 'arachadonic acid' to designate any of the eicosatetraenoic acids. However, almost all writings in biology, medicine and nutrition limit the use the term 'arachidonic acid' to all-cis 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (ω-6).
References
See also
 |
This biochemistry article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 23 July 2008, at 12:00.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Eicosatetraenoic acid".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.