Timnodonic acid

A common chemical property of polyunsatured fatty acids, which are needed to maintain animals in healthy condition, seems to be cis double bonds at the w6 and w9 positions [14]. Important essential fatty acids in the diet are linoleic (18 2w6) and a-linoleic (18 3w3) acids, which both occur in plants. In the mammalian organism, these fatty acids can be desaturated and elongated to form the derived essential fatty acids, dihomo-y-linolenic acid (20 3w6), arachidonic acid (20 4 6) and timnodonic acid (20 5to3), the three precursor acids of prostaglandins (Fig. 2, see also Fig. 11). The derived essential fatty acids can also be obtained in the diet. Arachidonic and dihomo-y-linolenic acids occur in animal tissues timnodonic acid in fish. The mammalian organism cannot introduce double bonds at the co3 and <06 positions of long-chain fatty acids, which partly explains why fatty acids of the w3 and w6 series must be provided in the diet (see refs. 15-18 for reviews). These fatty acids are also essential to man, however, deficiency states can only be induced by... 

Incubation of 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, timnodonic acid) with human platelet thromboxane synthetase yielded only little TXA, [107]. This was not due to poor conversion of PGH, into TXA, but rather poor conversion of the precursor fatty acid into PGH, [38,39,107],... 

EPA, 20 5 (n-3), timnodonic acid. This acid is present in most fish oils having been obtained from marine algae which are part of the marine food chain, in small amounts in animal phospholipids, and in oils produced by some microorganisms. It is a precursor of some prostanoids. See also... 

Synonyms 5,8,11,14,17-Eicosapentaenoic acid EPA Timnodonic acid Classification Unsaturated acid Empirical CjoHjqO,... 

Guichardant, M, Traitler, H, Spielmann, D, Sprecher, H and Finot, PA (1993) Stearidonic acid, an inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase pathway. A comparison with timnodonic and dihomogammalinolenic acid. Lipids, 28, 321—324. 

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