Table 1.
Occurrence of unsaturated and polyunsaturated (PU) fatty acid (FA) chains of lipids in animal and plant membranes
| Fatty acid chain | Occurrence (findings) | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| 18:1(n-9)cis FA | The most abundant monoenoic FA in plant and animal tissues | |
| 35–60% of the total FAs of peanut oil acylglycerols | Carrin and Carelli (2010) | |
| 35–69% of the total FAs of peanut oil acylglycerols | Köckritz and Martin (2008) | |
| 60% of the total FAs of the oil from 00-quality oilseed rape | Wittkop et al. (2009) | |
| 40–70% of various vegetable oils | Pinzi et al. (2009) | |
| 91–92% of HO sunflower 90plus oil | Köckritz and Martin (2008) | |
| 30–40% of the total FAs in adipose fats of animals | Nelson and Cox (2008) | |
| 18:2(n-6)cis FA | An ubiquitous component of plant lipids | |
| ~58% in the cold-pressed black cumin seed oil | Lutterodt et al. (2010) | |
| 48–74% of sunflower oil | Köckritz and Martin (2008) | |
| 48–59% of soybean oil | Köckritz and Martin (2008) | |
| 47–58% of cottonseed oil | Köckritz and Martin (2008) | |
| 75% of the total FAs of heart cardiolipin of animals | Minkler and Hoppel (2010) | |
| 18:3(n-3)cis FA | Large amounts in flaxseed and walnuts | |
| 34% of the total FAs in garden cress seed oil | Diwakar et al. (2010) | |
| 56–71% of the total FAs in linseed oil | Köckritz and Martin (2008) | |
| 18:4(n-3)cis FA | Variable amounts in several species of fungi and animals tissues, in seeds of some plant families | Guil-Guerrero (2007) |
| Up to 27% in several species of algae | Guil-Guerrero (2007) | |
| Up to 18% in Echium (Boraginaceae) species | Guil-Guerrero (2007) | |
| 18:5(n-3)cis FA | Certain algal groups in marine phytoplankton | Napolitano et al. (1995) |
| 20:4(n-6)cis FA | The mammalian cell membranes, fish oils, etc. | |
| 30–70% of the total FAs of triacylglycerols produced by the filamentous fungus Mortierella alpina 1S-4 | Sakuradani (2010) | |
| 20:5(n-3)cis FA | One of the most important FAs of the so-called ‘(n-3) family’: animal tissues (especially brain), algae, fish oils | DHA (2009) |
| 22:6(n-3)cis FA | The most unsaturated FA commonly found in nature, it regulates many cell transport and synaptic functions | |
| A major constituent of fish oils, especially from tuna eyeballs | DHA (2009) | |
| 40% of the PU FAs in the brain of animals | DHA (2009) | |
| 60% of the PU FAs in the retina of animals | DHA (2009) |