Docosapentaenoic acid

Docosapentaenoic acid designates any straight chain 22:5 fatty acid.

See essential fatty acid#nomenclature for nomenclature.

Two isomers are of particular interest

• all-cis-7,10,13,16,19-docosapentaenoic acid is an ω-3 fatty acid with the trivial name clupanodonic acid, commonly called DPA. It is an intermediary between eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 ω-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 ω-3). Seal oil is a rich source.^[1]
• all-cis-4,7,10,13,16-docosapentaenoic acid is an ω-6 fatty acid with the trivial name Osbond acid. It is formed by an elongation and desaturation of arachidonic acid 20:4 ω-6. In mammals, clupanodonic acid deficiency is accompanied by an increase of this isomer; the Osbond/DHA ratio is thus a marker of dietary DHA sufficiency.^[2] However, this usage has been questioned.^[3]

The chemical structure of clupanodonic acid showing physiological numbering (red) and chemical numbering (blue) conventions.

The chemical structure of ω-6 docosapentaenoic acid showing physiological numbering (red) and chemical numbering (blue) conventions.

References

1. ^ Omega 3 Seal Oil Studies and Research. "The Studies of Seal Oil". http://www.omega3sealoil.com/Chapter4_4.html. Retrieved February 8, 2006. 
2. ^ Gerard Hornstra (September 2007). "Essential Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Early Human Development" (^{[dead link]} – ^{Scholar search}). Fats of Life Newsletter. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080607194856/http://www.fatsoflife.com/pufa/article.asp?nid=1&edition=this&id=484. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
3. ^ Sheila M Innis, Ziba Vaghri and D Janette King. "n–6 Docosapentaenoic acid is not a predictor of low docosahexaenoic acid status in Canadian preschool children". http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/3/768. Retrieved July 17, 2006. 

See also

• List of omega-3 fatty acids