Alpha-Eleostearic acid
α-Eleostearic acid or -octadeca-9,11,13-trienoic acid, is an organic compound, a conjugated fatty acid and one of the isomers of octadecatrienoic acid. It is often called simply eleostearic acid although there is also a β-eleostearic acid. Its high degree of unsaturation gives tung oil its properties as a drying oil.In their pioneering work on essential fatty acids, Burr, Burr and Miller compared the nutritional properties of α-eleostearic acid to that of its isomer alpha-linolenic acid. ALA relieved essential fatty acid deficiency; ELA did not.
In rats, α-eleostearic acid is converted to a conjugated linoleic acid. The compound has been found to induce programmed cell death of fat cells, and of HL60 leukemia cells in vitro at a concentration of 20 μM. Diets containing 0.01% bitter gourd seed oil were found to prevent azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats.Etymology
Eleo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word for olive, ἔλαιον.
