Figure 1.
Scheme of FA synthesis in mammals. FAs are elongated (ELOVL1–7) and/or desaturated (SCD, FADS) to generate complex FAs. Long chain saturated FAs (LCSFA) and unsaturated FAs of ω9 and ω7 can be synthesized from palmitic acid (PA, C16:0) produced by the de novo FA synthesis. Long-chain unsaturated FAs of the ω6 and ω3 series can only be synthesized from essential diet-derived FAs (OA, oleic acid; NA, nervonic acid; ALA, α-linolenic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acids; LA, linoleic acid; ARA, arachidonic acid).