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Record Information
Version5.0
StatusDetected and Quantified
Creation Date2005-11-16 15:48:42 UTC
Update Date2022-03-07 02:49:09 UTC
HMDB IDHMDB0001388
Secondary Accession Numbers
  • HMDB01388
Metabolite Identification
Common Namealpha-Linolenic acid
Descriptionalpha-Linolenic acid (ALA) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). It is a member of the group of essential fatty acids called omega-3 fatty acids. alpha-Linolenic acid, in particular, is not synthesized by mammals and therefore is an essential dietary requirement for all mammals. Certain nuts (English walnuts) and vegetable oils (canola, soybean, flaxseed/linseed, olive) are particularly rich in alpha-linolenic acid. Omega-3 fatty acids get their name based on the location of one of their first double bond. In all omega-3 fatty acids, the first double bond is located between the third and fourth carbon atom counting from the methyl end of the fatty acid (n-3). Although humans and other mammals can synthesize saturated and some monounsaturated fatty acids from carbon groups in carbohydrates and proteins, they lack the enzymes necessary to insert a cis double bond at the n-6 or the n-3 position of a fatty acid. Omega-3 fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid are important structural components of cell membranes. When incorporated into phospholipids, they affect cell membrane properties such as fluidity, flexibility, permeability, and the activity of membrane-bound enzymes. Omega-3 fatty acids can modulate the expression of a number of genes, including those involved with fatty acid metabolism and inflammation. alpha-Linolenic acid and other omega-3 fatty acids may regulate gene expression by interacting with specific transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and liver X receptors (LXRs). alpha-Linolenic acid is found to be associated with isovaleric acidemia, which is an inborn error of metabolism.
Structure
Thumb
Synonyms
Chemical FormulaC18H30O2
Average Molecular Weight278.4296
Monoisotopic Molecular Weight278.224580204
IUPAC Name(9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca-9,12,15-trienoic acid
Traditional Nameα linolenic acid
CAS Registry Number463-40-1
SMILES
CC\C=C/C\C=C/C\C=C/CCCCCCCC(O)=O
InChI Identifier
InChI=1S/C18H30O2/c1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18(19)20/h3-4,6-7,9-10H,2,5,8,11-17H2,1H3,(H,19,20)/b4-3-,7-6-,10-9-
InChI KeyDTOSIQBPPRVQHS-PDBXOOCHSA-N
Chemical Taxonomy
Description Belongs to the class of organic compounds known as lineolic acids and derivatives. These are derivatives of lineolic acid. Lineolic acid is a polyunsaturated omega-6 18 carbon long fatty acid, with two CC double bonds at the 9- and 12-positions.
KingdomOrganic compounds
Super ClassLipids and lipid-like molecules
ClassFatty Acyls
Sub ClassLineolic acids and derivatives
Direct ParentLineolic acids and derivatives
Alternative Parents
Substituents
  • Octadecanoid
  • Long-chain fatty acid
  • Fatty acid
  • Unsaturated fatty acid
  • Straight chain fatty acid
  • Monocarboxylic acid or derivatives
  • Carboxylic acid
  • Carboxylic acid derivative
  • Organic oxygen compound
  • Organic oxide
  • Hydrocarbon derivative
  • Organooxygen compound
  • Carbonyl group
  • Aliphatic acyclic compound
Molecular FrameworkAliphatic acyclic compounds
External Descriptors
Ontology
Physiological effect
Disposition
Biological locationRoute of exposureSource
Process
Naturally occurring process
Role
Physical Properties
StateLiquid
Experimental Molecular Properties
PropertyValueReference
Melting Point-16.5 °CNot Available
Boiling PointNot AvailableNot Available
Water SolubilityNot AvailableNot Available
LogP6.46SANGSTER (1993)
Experimental Chromatographic Properties

Experimental Collision Cross Sections

Adduct TypeData SourceCCS Value (Å2)Reference
[M-H]-MetCCS_train_neg173.07230932474
[M+H]+MetCCS_train_pos170.65430932474
[M-H]-Not Available173.8http://allccs.zhulab.cn/database/detail?ID=AllCCS00000248
[M+H]+Not Available170.998http://allccs.zhulab.cn/database/detail?ID=AllCCS00000248
Predicted Molecular Properties
Predicted Chromatographic Properties
Spectra
Biological Properties
Cellular Locations
  • Cytoplasm
  • Extracellular
  • Membrane (predicted from logP)
Biospecimen Locations
  • Blood
  • Feces
  • Saliva
  • Urine
Tissue Locations
  • Adipose Tissue
  • Epidermis
  • Fibroblasts
  • Intestine
  • Placenta
  • Platelet
  • Prostate
  • Skeletal Muscle
Pathways
Normal Concentrations
Abnormal Concentrations
Associated Disorders and Diseases
Disease References
Hypertension
  1. Wang S, Ma A, Song S, Quan Q, Zhao X, Zheng X: Fasting serum free fatty acid composition, waist/hip ratio and insulin activity in essential hypertensive patients. Hypertens Res. 2008 Apr;31(4):623-32. doi: 10.1291/hypres.31.623. [PubMed:18633173 ]
Essential hypertension
  1. Wang S, Ma A, Song S, Quan Q, Zhao X, Zheng X: Fasting serum free fatty acid composition, waist/hip ratio and insulin activity in essential hypertensive patients. Hypertens Res. 2008 Apr;31(4):623-32. doi: 10.1291/hypres.31.623. [PubMed:18633173 ]
Major depressive disorder
  1. Sublette ME, Segal-Isaacson CJ, Cooper TB, Fekri S, Vanegas N, Galfalvy HC, Oquendo MA, Mann JJ: Validation of a food frequency questionnaire to assess intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in subjects with and without major depressive disorder. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Jan;111(1):117-123.e1-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2010.10.007. [PubMed:21185973 ]
Isovaleric acidemia
  1. Dercksen M, Kulik W, Mienie LJ, Reinecke CJ, Wanders RJ, Duran M: Polyunsaturated fatty acid status in treated isovaleric acidemia patients. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2016 Oct;70(10):1123-1126. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2016.100. Epub 2016 Jun 22. [PubMed:27329611 ]
Colorectal cancer
  1. Brown DG, Rao S, Weir TL, O'Malia J, Bazan M, Brown RJ, Ryan EP: Metabolomics and metabolic pathway networks from human colorectal cancers, adjacent mucosa, and stool. Cancer Metab. 2016 Jun 6;4:11. doi: 10.1186/s40170-016-0151-y. eCollection 2016. [PubMed:27275383 ]
  2. Sinha R, Ahn J, Sampson JN, Shi J, Yu G, Xiong X, Hayes RB, Goedert JJ: Fecal Microbiota, Fecal Metabolome, and Colorectal Cancer Interrelations. PLoS One. 2016 Mar 25;11(3):e0152126. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152126. eCollection 2016. [PubMed:27015276 ]
  3. Goedert JJ, Sampson JN, Moore SC, Xiao Q, Xiong X, Hayes RB, Ahn J, Shi J, Sinha R: Fecal metabolomics: assay performance and association with colorectal cancer. Carcinogenesis. 2014 Sep;35(9):2089-96. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgu131. Epub 2014 Jul 18. [PubMed:25037050 ]
Thyroid cancer
  1. Kim KM, Jung BH, Lho DS, Chung WY, Paeng KJ, Chung BC: Alteration of urinary profiles of endogenous steroids and polyunsaturated fatty acids in thyroid cancer. Cancer Lett. 2003 Dec 30;202(2):173-9. [PubMed:14643447 ]
Associated OMIM IDs
DrugBank IDDB00132
Phenol Explorer Compound IDNot Available
FooDB IDFDB012462
KNApSAcK IDC00007247
Chemspider ID4444437
KEGG Compound IDC06427
BioCyc IDLINOLENIC_ACID
BiGG ID48237
Wikipedia LinkAlpha-Linolenic_acid
METLIN ID6208
PubChem Compound5280934
PDB IDNot Available
ChEBI ID27432
Food Biomarker OntologyNot Available
VMH IDLNLNCA
MarkerDB IDMDB00000318
Good Scents IDrw1045911
References
Synthesis ReferenceLi, Guihua; Qian, Xiangming; Jiang, Yanchao; Ma, Shushi. Preparation of a-linolenic acid from linseed oil. Zhengzhou Gongcheng Xueyuan Xuebao (2004), 25(3), 13-15.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)Not Available
General References

Only showing the first 10 proteins. There are 30 proteins in total.

Enzymes

General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
PA2 catalyzes the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of the 2-acyl groups in 3-sn-phosphoglycerides. This isozyme hydrolyzes more efficiently L-alpha-1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine than L-alpha-1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonyl phosphatidylcholine, L-alpha-1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonyl phosphatidylethanolamine, or L-alpha-1-stearoyl-2-arachidonyl phosphatidylinositol. May be involved in the production of lung surfactant, the remodeling or regulation of cardiac muscle.
Gene Name:
PLA2G5
Uniprot ID:
P39877
Molecular weight:
15674.065
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
PA2 catalyzes the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of the 2-acyl groups in 3-sn-phosphoglycerides. Hydrolyzes phosphatidylglycerol versus phosphatidylcholine with a 15-fold preference.
Gene Name:
PLA2G2F
Uniprot ID:
Q9BZM2
Molecular weight:
23256.29
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in metabolic process
Specific function:
Selectively hydrolyzes arachidonyl phospholipids in the sn-2 position releasing arachidonic acid. Together with its lysophospholipid activity, it is implicated in the initiation of the inflammatory response.
Gene Name:
PLA2G4A
Uniprot ID:
P47712
Molecular weight:
85210.19
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
PA2 catalyzes the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of the 2-acyl groups in 3-sn-phosphoglycerides.
Gene Name:
PLA2G1B
Uniprot ID:
P04054
Molecular weight:
16359.535
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
Not known; does not seem to have catalytic activity.
Gene Name:
PLA2G12B
Uniprot ID:
Q9BX93
Molecular weight:
Not Available
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
PA2 catalyzes the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of the 2-acyl groups in 3-sn-phosphoglycerides. Has a powerful potency for releasing arachidonic acid from cell membrane phospholipids. Prefers phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine liposomes to those of phosphatidylserine.
Gene Name:
PLA2G10
Uniprot ID:
O15496
Molecular weight:
18153.04
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
PA2 catalyzes the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of the 2-acyl groups in 3-sn-phosphoglycerides. Has a preference for arachidonic-containing phospholipids.
Gene Name:
PLA2G2E
Uniprot ID:
Q9NZK7
Molecular weight:
15988.525
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
PA2 catalyzes the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of the 2-acyl groups in 3-sn-phosphoglycerides. Does not exhibit detectable activity toward sn-2-arachidonoyl- or linoleoyl-phosphatidylcholine or -phosphatidylethanolamine.
Gene Name:
PLA2G12A
Uniprot ID:
Q9BZM1
Molecular weight:
21066.99
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in metabolic process
Specific function:
Catalyzes the release of fatty acids from phospholipids. It has been implicated in normal phospholipid remodeling, nitric oxide-induced or vasopressin-induced arachidonic acid release and in leukotriene and prostaglandin production. May participate in fas mediated apoptosis and in regulating transmembrane ion flux in glucose-stimulated B-cells. Has a role in cardiolipin (CL) deacylation. Required for both speed and directionality of monocyte MCP1/CCL2-induced chemotaxis through regulation of F-actin polymerization at the pseudopods. Isoform ankyrin-iPLA2-1 and isoform ankyrin-iPLA2-2, which lack the catalytic domain, are probably involved in the negative regulation of iPLA2 activity.
Gene Name:
PLA2G6
Uniprot ID:
O60733
Molecular weight:
84092.635
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails
General function:
Involved in phospholipase A2 activity
Specific function:
Thought to participate in the regulation of the phospholipid metabolism in biomembranes including eicosanoid biosynthesis. Catalyzes the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of the 2-acyl groups in 3-sn-phosphoglycerides.
Gene Name:
PLA2G2A
Uniprot ID:
P14555
Molecular weight:
16082.525
Reactions
Phosphatidylcholine + Water → 1-Acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + alpha-Linolenic aciddetails

Only showing the first 10 proteins. There are 30 proteins in total.