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EFA:Chain Lengths & Metabolism

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Most food consumed in balanced nutrition of adults is eventually converted to energy, water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Unburned acetyl-CoA forms saturated fatty acids (SFA) and the n-7 and n-9 unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). Tissue metabolism forms transient amounts of fatty acids with different chain lengths. Omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) EFA occur only from dietary intake, accumulating as highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) especially at the 2-position of tissue phospholipids. This website includes 18:3n-3+18:4n-3 in short-3; 18:2n-6+18:3n-6 in short-6; 20:5n-3+22:5n-3+22:6n-3 in long-3; 20:3n-6+20:4n-6+22:4n-6+22:5n-6 in long-6. Common tissue fatty acids are encircled.