Essential & Nonessential Fatty Acids

References

Chemically, a fatty acid is an organic compound with an acid group at one end of its molecule and a methyl group at the other end. Fatty acids are typically categorized in the omega groups 3, 6 and 9 according to the location of their first double bond. (There’s also an omega-7 group, but these are less important to human health.) Now, don’t panic if you’re not up on your chemistry; this isn’t going to be a chemistry lesson.

The term essential fatty acid (EFA) refers to a fatty acid that the body cannot manufacture and must, therefore, obtain from dietary sources. These EFAs were originally designated as Vitamin F, until it was realized they should be classified with the fats. There are two fatty acids designated as EFAs: linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). This does not mean the other 15 or so fatty acids found in the omega 3, 6 and 9 groups aren’t important, just that a healthy body can manufacture them as long as it gets enough LA and ALA. Nevertheless, research demonstrates there are health benefits to be had by obtaining some of the other nonessential fatty acids directly. First, however, let us discuss the roles of EFAs in the body, as well as sources of EFAs.

The body uses EFAs for the formation of healthy cell membranes, the proper development and functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the production of hormone-like substances called eicosanoids (i.e., thromboxanes, leukotrienes, prostaglandins). These chemicals regulate numerous body functions including blood pressure, blood viscosity, vasoconstriction, immune and inflammatory responses.¹

Dietary sources of the omega-6 fatty acids include some leafy vegetables, seeds nuts, grains, vegetable oils and meats. Dietary sources of the omega-3 fatty acids include some vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, shellfish and fish.² Dietary supplement sources of essential and non-essential fatty acids include evening primrose oil, borage oil, flax seed oil and fish oils (marine lipid concentrate).

The oils from the evening primrose plant and borage seed are rich in the omega-6 fatty acid, gamma linolenic acid (GLA); as well as LA and ALA. Although fatty acids are found in significant quantities in a variety of plants, GLA is only found in a few species. GLA is a precursor to various natural chemicals found in the body, including prostaglandins, a type of short-term hormone-like substances, which play a variety of roles in the body. Published research on these plant sources of GLA have demonstrated them to be useful in PMS,^3,4 pregnancy and lactation,^5,6 inflammatory conditions,^7,8 rheumatoid arthritis,^9,10 skin conditions,^{11,12,13,14,15,16} stress and performance,¹⁷ as well as migraine headaches.¹⁸ Furthermore, the unique balance of GLA-to-EFAs in any one of these plant sources may have a distinct benefit over another source depending on the condition in question.

Omega-3 EFAs have also been shown to block the production of certain inflammatory chemicals in our body. Consequently, studies have demonstrated the ability of omega-3 EFAs to reduce inflammation in such disorders as rheumatoid arthritis,^27,28 asthma,^29,30, colitis,³¹ Crohn’s disease,³² and lupus.³³ In addition, omega-3 EFAs have shown to reduce the symptoms of other disorders including angina,^34,35 migraine headaches,³⁶ psoriasis^37,38 and tinnitus (chronic ear ringing).³⁹

Just a quick note to mention that the omega-9 fatty acid oleic acid has been shown in research to lower heart attack risk and arteriosclerosis,⁴⁶ and aids in the prevention of breast cancer.⁴⁷

In addition to the two EFAs, there are other fatty acids whose consumption may have benefits for human health. Both the essential and non-essential fatty acids can be obtained from a variety of dietary supplement sources, each with its own potential advantages. Perhaps a combination of all of them may yield the broadest spectrum of both essential and non-essential fatty acids.

March 2006 Health Supplement Retailer
"Essential & Nonessential Fatty Acids" References

1. Davis B. Essential Fatty Acids in Vegetarian Nutrition. Andrews University Nutrition Department. www.andrews.edu/NUFS/essentialfat.htm.

2. Whitney EN, Cataldo CB, Rolfes SR. Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition, 5th ed. Belmont, Calif. West/Wadsworth; 1998:141-175.

3. Horrobin DF et al. J Nutr Med. 2:259–64, 1991.

4. Massil H, O'Brien PMS, Brush MG. "A double blind trial of Efamol evening primrose oil in premenstrual syndrome." 2nd International Symposium on PMS, Kiawah Island, S.C. September 1987.

5. D'Almeida A et al. "Effects of a combination of evening primrose oil (gamma linolenic acid) and fish oil (eicosapentaenoic + docahexaenoic acid) versus magnesium, and versus placebo in preventing pre-eclampsia." Women Health. 19, 2-3:117-31, 1992.

6. Cant A, Shay J, Horrobin DF. "The effect of maternal supplementation with linoleic and gamma-linolenic acids on the fat composition and content of human milk: a placebo-controlled trial." J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 37, 6:573-9, 1991.

7. Chilton-Lopez et al. "Metabolism of gamma-linolenic acid in human neutrophils." J Immunol. 156, 8:2941-7, 1996.

8. Ziboh VA, Fletcher MP. "Dose-response effects of dietary gamma-linolenic acid-enriched oils on human polymorphonuclear-neutrophil biosynthesis of leukotriene B4." Am J Clin Nutr. 55, 1:39-45, 1992. www.ajcn.org

9. Vassilopoulos D et al. " Gamma-linolenic acid and dihomogamma-linolenic acid suppress the CD3-mediated signal transduction pathway in human T cells." Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 83, 3:237-44, 1997.

10. Rothman D, DeLuca P, Zurier RB. "Botanical lipids: effects on inflammation, immune responses, and rheumatoid arthritis." Semin Arthritis Rheum. 25, 2:87-96, 1995.

11. Horrobin DF. "Fatty acid metabolism in health and disease: the role of delta-6-desaturase." Am J Clin Nutr. 57, 5 Suppl:732S-736S, 1993. www.ajcn.org

12. Businco L et al. "Breast milk from mothers of children with newly developed atopic eczema has low levels of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids." J Allergy Clin Immunol. 91, 6:1134-9, 1993.

13. Fiocchi A et al. "The efficacy and safety of gamma-linolenic acid in the treatment of infantile atopic dermatitis." J Int Med Res. 22, 1:24-32, 1994.

14. Andreassi M et al. "Efficacy of gamma-linolenic acid in the treatment of patients with atopic dermatitis." J Int Med Res. 25, 5:266-74, 1997.

15. Borrek S, Hildebrandt A, Forster J. " [Gamma-linolenic-acid-rich borage seed oil capsules in children with atopic dermatitis. A placebo-controlled double-blind study.]" Klin Padiatr. 209, 3:100-4, 1997.

16. Fiocchi A et al. op cit.

17. Mills DE et al. "Alteration of baroreflex control of forearm vascular resistance by dietary fatty acids." Am J Physiol. 259, 6 Pt 2:R1164-71, 1990.

18. Wagner W, Nootbaar-Wagner U. "Prophylactic treatment of migraine with gamma-linolenic and alpha-linolenic acids." Cephalalgia. 17, 2:127-30, 1997.

19. Johansen O et al. "The effect of supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids on soluble markers of endothelial function in patients with coronary heart disease." Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 19, 7:1681-6, 1999.

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22. Albert CM et al. "Blood levels of long-chain n-3 fatty acids and the risk of sudden death." N Engl J Med. 346:1113-8, 2002.

23. Hu FB et al. "Fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake and risk of coronary heart disease in women." JAMA. 287:1815-21, 2002.

24. Kromhout D, Bosschieter EB, Coulander CdL. "The inverse relation between fish consumption and 20-year mortality from coronary heart disease." N Engl J Med. 312:1205-9, 1985.

25. Albert CM et al. "Fish consumption and the risk of sudden death in the Physicians' Health Study." Circulation. 94, suppl 1:I-578 [abstract #3382], 1996.

26. Morris MC, Sacks F, Rosner B. "Does fish oil lower blood pressure? A meta-analysis of controlled trials." Circulation. 88:523-33, 1993.

27. Alexander JW. "Immunonutrition: the role of omega-3 fatty acids." Nutrition. 14, 7-8:627-33, 1998.

28. Ariza-Ariza R, Mestanza-Peralta M, Cardiel MH. "Omega-3 fatty acids in rheumatoid arthritis: an overview." Semin Arthritis Rheum. 27, 6:366-70, 1998.

29. Villani F et al. "Effect of dietary supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids on bronchial hyperreactivity in subjects with seasonal asthma." Respiration. 65, 4:265-9, 1998.

30. Broughton KS et al. "Reduced asthma symptoms with n-3 fatty acid ingestion are related to 5-series leukotriene production." Am J Clin Nutr. 65, 4:1011-7, 1997. www.ajcn.org

31. Almallah YZ et al. "Distal procto-colitis, natural cytotoxicity, and essential fatty acids." Am J Gastroenterol. 93, 5:804-9, 1998.

32. Geerling BJ et al. "Fat intake and fatty acid profile in plasma phospholipids and adipose tissue in patients with Crohn's disease, compared with controls." Am J Gastroenterol. 94, 2:410-7, 1999.

33. Walton AJ et al. "Dietary fish oil and the severity of symptoms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus." Ann Rheum Dis. 50:463-66, 1991.

34. Saynor R, Verel D, Gillott T. "The long-term effect of dietary supplementation with fish lipid concentrate on serum lipids, bleeding time, platelets and angina." Atherosclerosis. 50:3-10, 1984.

35. Mehta JL et al. "Dietary supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with stable coronary heart disease. Effects on indices of platelet and neutrophil function and exercise performance." Am J Med. 84:45-52, 1988.

36. McCarty MF. "Magnesium taurate and fish oil for prevention of migraine." Med Hypotheses. 47, 6:461-6, 1996.

37. Kojima T et al. "Long-term administration of highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid provides improvement of psoriasis." Dermatologica. 182:225-30, 1991.

38. Kojima T et al. "Effect of highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid on psoriasis." J Am Acad Dermatol. 21:150-51, 1989.

39. Rudin D. "The major psychoses and neuroses as omega-3 essential fatty acid deficiency syndrome: substrate pellagra." Biol Psychiatry. 16, 9:837-50, 1981.

40. Mantzioris E et al. "Dietary substitution with an alpha-linolenic acid-rich vegetable oil increases eicosapentaenoic acid concentrations in tissues." Am J Clin Nutr. 59, 6:1304-9, 1994. www.ajcn.org

41. James MJ, Gibson RA, Cleland LG. "Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and inflammatory mediator production." Am J Clin Nutr. 71, 1Suppl:343S-8S, 2000. www.ajcn.org

42. Clark WF et al. "Flaxseed: a potential treatment for lupus nephritis." Kidney Int. 48:475-80, 1995.

43. Harris WS. "n-3 fatty acids and serum lipoproteins: human studies." Am J Clin Nutr. 65, 5 Suppl:1645S-1654S, 1997. www.ajcn.org

44. Prasad K. "Dietary flax seed in prevention of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis." Atherosclerosis. 132, 1:69-76, 1997.

45. Nestel PJ et al. "Arterial compliance in obese subjects is improved with dietary plant n-3 fatty acid from flaxseed oil despite increased LDL oxidizability." Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 17, 6:1163-70, 1997.

46. Rotella P. Healthy Fats--Essential Fatty Acids. http://goodfats.pamrotella.com.

47. Menendez JA et al. "Oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid of olive oil, suppresses Her-2/neu (erbB-2) expression and synergistically enhances the growth inhibitory effects of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in breast cancer cells with Her-2/neu oncogene amplification." Ann Oncol. 16, 3:359-71, 2005.

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