Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Damude, Howard G
• Kinney, Anthony J
• Krishnan, Hari

Titel

Engineering Plants to Produce Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Ist Teil von

• Modification of Seed Composition to Promote Health and Nutrition, 2009, p.201-218

Ort / Verlag

Madison, WI, USA: American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America

Erscheinungsjahr

2009

Quelle

Wiley Online Library All Obooks

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Fats and oils are important constituents in the human diet, both as a source of energy and as carbon building blocks. This chapter discusses the importance of the chemical structure of fatty acids in relation to their health properties. Saturated fats have been used in a variety of cooking and baking applications because of their oxidative stability and shelf‐life. But, consumption of fats high in short‐chain, saturated fatty acids leads to increases in low‐density lipoprotein and may lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Stearic acid is generally considered neutral in its effect on blood lipids while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids tend to have an inverse correlation with coronary heart disease. In the body, the essential fatty acids such as linolenic acid and alpha‐linolenic acid are converted to the long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids arachidonic acid and eicosapenatenoic acid, respectively through a series of common desaturation and elongation reactions.