Application Notes:
Linoleic acid is an 18 carbon, omega-6 fatty acid that is abundant in many plant oils. It is an essential fatty acid in animals
and is the precursor in the synthesis of arachidonic acid and other polyunsaturated fatty acids. The conjugated linoleic acids
c9,t11 and t10,c12 inhibit linoleic acid elongation to eicosadienoic acid.1 Linoleic acid supplements have been used to try to
help prevent cystic fibrosis, dermatitis, and diabetes but the precise mechanisms have proven elusive. It is commonly used in
dermatological cosmetics, soaps, and emulsifiers. In some fungus linoleic acid is converted to oxylipins, important
compounds of the fungal life cycle,2 and it may play a direct role in the epidermal permeability barrier.3
References:
1. L. Chuang et al. “Inhibitory effect of conjugated linoleic acid on linoleic acid elongation in transformed yeast with human elongase” Lipids, Vol. 36(10),
pp. 1099-1103, 2001
2. M. Wadman et al. “Conversion of linoleic acid into novel oxylipins by the mushroom Agaricus bisporus” Lipids, Vol. 40(11) pp. 1163-1170, 2005
3. P. Elias, B. Brown, V. Ziboh “The Permeability Barrier in Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency: Evidence for a Direct Role for Linoleic Acid in Barrier
Function” Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Vol.74 pp. 230–233, 1980