Omega-6 fatty acid

An omega-6 fatty acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid whose first double bond lies six carbon atoms from the methyl end of its chain. The family includes essential dietary fats and their metabolic products.

Polyunsaturated fatty acid: A fatty acid with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds in its hydrocarbon chain. Omega-6 fatty acids belong to this structural family because they contain multiple double bonds.
Fatty acid desaturation: The enzymatic introduction of carbon–carbon double bonds into fatty-acid chains. Desaturation converts dietary linoleic acid into more unsaturated omega-6 products.
Vegetable oil: An edible oil extracted from seeds, fruits, or other plant tissues. Many common seed oils supply substantial dietary linoleic acid.
Alpha-linolenic acid: An essential omega-3 fatty acid with 18 carbon atoms and three double bonds, abbreviated ALA. It is an essential dietary counterpart to linoleic acid in the omega-3 family.
Fatty acid: A carboxylic acid with a hydrocarbon chain, used in fats and other biological molecules. Its carbon chain and carboxyl group provide the basic structure classified by omega position.
Fatty acid elongation: The addition of two-carbon units to a fatty-acid chain by cellular enzymes. Elongation extends linoleic acid toward long-chain omega-6 molecules such as arachidonic acid.
Dietary reference intake: A set of nutrient intake standards used to assess and plan diets. Reference values express recommended linoleic acid intake by age and sex.
Stearic acid: A saturated fatty acid with 18 carbon atoms and no carbon–carbon double bonds. Its lack of double bonds contrasts with the defining unsaturation of omega-6 fatty acids.
Linoleic acid: An essential omega-6 fatty acid with 18 carbon atoms and two double bonds, abbreviated LA. It is the main dietary omega-6 precursor and cannot be synthesized by humans.
Eicosanoid: A signaling molecule derived from 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids. Arachidonic acid supplies a major set of eicosanoid precursors.

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