unsaturated fatty acids
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- unsaturated fatty acids
-
Fatty acids containing one (monounsaturated) or multiple (polyunsaturated) double bonds; they predominate in most plant-derived fats. The number and position of each double bond can be specified, as in the systematic names, or the position of the double bond closest to the methyl (omega) terminus can be specified to denote functional subdivisions of the overall group, e.g., omega-3 fatty acids. The numbers and positions of the double bonds have been linked to effects on plasma lipid, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels.
Used in 2 Term definitions
Used in 2 Term definitions