Journal of Lipids

Review Article

Overconsumption of Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) versus Deficiency of Omega-3 PUFAs in Modern-Day Diets: The Disturbing Factor for Their “Balanced Antagonistic Metabolic Functions” in the Human Body

Table 1

List of the most common n-3 and n-6 PUFAs. Data elaborated from Ruiz-Lopez et al. [27] and Russo [33].


Omega family	Common name	Systematic name	n and Δ abbreviations

n-3	α-Linolenic acid (ALA)	all-cis-9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid	18:3n-3 or 18:3^{Δ 9,12,15}
	Stearidonic acid (SDA)	all-cis-6,9,12,15-Octadecatetraenoic acid	18:4n-3 or 18:4^Δ6,9,12,15
	Eicosatetraenoic acid (ETA)	all-cis-8,11,14,17-Eicosatetraenoic acid	20:4n-3 or 20:4^Δ8,11,14,17
	Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)	all-cis-5,8,11,14,17-Eicosapentaenoic acid	20:5n-3 or 20:5^{Δ5,8,11,14,17}
	Clupanodonic acid (DPA_n-3)	all-cis-7,10,13,16,19-Docosapentaenoic acid	22:5n-3 or 22:5^{Δ7,10,13,16,19}
	Tetracosapentaenoic acid (TPA)	all-cis-9,12,15,18,21-Tetracosapentaenoic acid	24:5n-3 or 24:3^{Δ9,12,15,18,21}
	Nisinic acid (THA)	all-cis-6,9,12,15,18,21-Tetracosahexaenoic acid	24:6n-3 or 24:6^{Δ6,9,12,15,18,21}
	Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)	all-cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-Docosahexaenoic acid	22:6n-3 or 22:6^{Δ4,7,10,13,16,19}

n-6	Linoleic acid (LA)	all-cis-9,12-Octadecadienoic acid	18:2n-6 or 18:2^Δ9,12
	γ-Linolenic acid (GLA)	all-cis-6,9,12-Octadecatrienoic acid	18:3n-6 or 18:3^Δ6,9,12
	Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA)	all-cis-8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic acid	20:3n-6 or 20:3^Δ8,11,14
	Arachidonic acid (AA)	all-cis-5,8,11,14-Eicosatetraenoic acid	20:4n-6 or 20:4^Δ5,8,11,14
	Adrenic acid (DTA)	all-cis-7,10,13,16-Docosatetraenoic acid	22:4n-6 or 22:4^{Δ 7,10,13,16}
	Tetracosatetraenoic acid (TTA_n-6)	all-cis-9,12,15,18-Tetracosatetraenoic acid	24:4n-6 or 24:4^Δ9,12,15,18
	Tetracosapentaenoic acid (TPA_n-6)	all-cis-6,9,12,15,18-Tetracosapentaenoic acid	24:5n-6 or 24:6^{Δ6,9,12,15,18}
	Osbond acid (DPA_n-6)	all-cis-4,7,10,13,16-Docosapentaenoic acid	22:5n-6 or 22:5^{Δ4,7,10,13,16}