List of fatty acids present in foods
Below is a list of the main fatty acids, a class of lipids, found in foods. These are saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, of which the common name, the IUPAC name and the shorthand notation are specified.
In the shorthand notation the first number indicates how many carbon atoms are present in the molecule whereas the second the number of double bonds in the carbon chain. This type of notation cannot be used for trans fatty acids.
| Type | Common and IUPAC names, plus shorthand notations |
| Saturated fatty acids |
Butyric acid Butanoic acid 4:0 |
| Caproic acid Hexanoic acid 6:0 |
|
| Caprylic acid Octanoic acid 8:0 |
|
| Capric acid Decanoic acid 10:0 |
|
| Lauric acid Dodecanoic acid 12:0 |
|
| Myristic acid Tetradecanoic acid 14:0 |
|
| Palmitic acid Hexadecanoic acid 16:0 |
|
| Stearic acid Octadecanoic acid 18:0 |
|
| Arachidic acid Icosanoic acid 20:0 |
|
| Behenic acid Docosanoic acid 22:0 |
|
| Lignoceric acid Tetracosanoic acid 24:0 |
|
| Type | Common and IUPAC names, plus shorthand notations |
| Monounsaturated fatty acids | Caproleic acid Dec-9-enoic acid 10:1n-1 |
| Lauroleic acid (Z)-dodec-9-enoic acid 12:1n-3 |
|
| Myristoleic acid (Z)-tetradec-9-enoic acid 14:1n-5 |
|
| Palmitoleic acid (Z)-hexadec-9-enoic acid 16:1n-7 |
|
| Oleic acid (Z)-octadec-9-enoic acid 18:1n-9 |
|
| Elaidic acid (E)-octadec-9-enoic acid |
|
| Vaccenic acid (E)-octadec-11-enoic acid |
|
| Gadoleic acid (Z)-icos-9-enoic acid 20:1n-11 |
|
| Erucic acid (Z)-docos-13-enoic acid 22:1n-9 |
|
| Brassidic acid (E)-docos-13-enoic acid |
|
| Nervonic acid (Z)-tetracos-15-enoic acid 24:1n-9 |
|
| Type | Common and IUPAC names, plus shorthand notations |
| Polyunsaturated fatty acids | Linoleic acid (9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12- dienoic acid 18:2n-6 |
| alpha-Linolenic acid (9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca- 9,12,15-trienoic acid 18:3n-3 |
|
| gamma-Linolenic acid (6Z,9Z,12Z)-octadeca- 6,9,12-trienoic acid 18:3n-6 |
|
| Columbinic acid (5E,9E,12E)-octadeca- 5,9,12-trienoic acid |
|
| Stearidonic acid (6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca- 6,9,12,15-tetraenoic acid 18:4n-3 |
|
| Mead acid (5Z,8Z,11Z)-icosa- 5,8,11-trienoic acid 20:3n-9 |
|
| Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (8Z,11Z,14Z)-icosa- 8,11,14-trienoic acid 20:3n-6 |
|
| Arachidonic acid (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)-icosa- 5,8,11,14-tetraenoic acid 20:4n-6 |
|
| Eicosapentaenoic acid (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z,17Z)-icosa- 5,8,11,14,17-pentaenoic acid 20:5n-3 |
|
| Docosapentaenoic acid (7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)-docosa- 7,10,13,16,19-pentaenoic acid 22:5n-3 |
|
| Docosahexaenoic acid (4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)-docosa-4,7,10,13,16,19-hexaenoic acid 22:6n-3 |
References
- Akoh C.C. and Min D.B. “Food lipids: chemistry, nutrition, and biotechnology” 3th ed. 2008
- Chow Ching K. “Fatty acids in foods and their health implication” 3th ed. 2008