Naming of Fatty Acids

Nomenclature Examples Explanation

Trivial names (or common names) are non-systematic historical names, which are the most frequent naming system used in literature. Most
Trivial Palmitoleic acid common fatty acids have trivial names in addition to their systematic names (see below). These names frequently do not follow any pattern,
but they are concise and often unambiguous.

Systematic names (or IUPAC names) derive from the standard IUPAC Rules for the Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, published in
Systematic cis-9-octadec-9-enoic acid 1979, along with a recommendation published specifically for lipids in 1977. Carbon atom numbering begins from the carboxylic end of the
(9Z)-octadec-9-enoic acid molecule backbone. Double bonds are labelled with cis-/trans- notation or E-/Z- notation, where appropriate. This notation is generally
more verbose than common nomenclature, but has the advantage of being more technically clear and descriptive.

In Δx (or delta-x) nomenclature, each double bond is indicated by Δx, where the double bond begins at the xth carbon–carbon
Δx cis-Δ9, cis-Δ12 octadecadienoic acid bond, counting from carboxylic end of the molecule backbone. Each double bond is preceded by a cis- or trans- prefix, indicating the
configuration of the molecule around the bond. For example, linoleic acid is designated "cis-Δ9, cis-Δ12 octadecadienoic acid". This
nomenclature has the advantage of being less verbose than systematic nomenclature, but is no more technically clear or descriptive.

n−x (n minus x; also ω−x or omega-x) nomenclature both provides names for individual compounds and classifies them by their likely
biosynthetic properties in animals. A double bond is located on the xth carbon–carbon bond, counting from the methyl end of the molecule
n−x n−3 backbone. For example, α-Linolenic acid is classified as a n−3 or omega-3 fatty acid, and so it is likely to share a biosynthetic pathway with
(or ω−x) (or ω−3) other compounds of this type. The ω−x, omega-x, or "omega" notation is common in popular nutritional literature, but IUPAC has
deprecated it in favor of n−x notation in technical documents. The most commonly researched fatty acid biosynthetic pathways
are n−3 and n−6.

Lipid numbers take the form C:D, where C is the number of carbon atoms in the fatty acid and D is the number of double bonds in the fatty
acid. If D is more than one, the double bonds are assumed to be interrupted by CH
18:3 2 units, i.e., at intervals of 3 carbon atoms along the chain. For instance, α-Linolenic acid is an 18:3 fatty acid and its three double bonds are

Lipid numbers 18:3n3 located at positions Δ9, Δ12, and Δ15. This notation can be ambiguous, as some different fatty acids can have the same C:D numbers.
18:3, cis,cis,cis-Δ9,Δ12,Δ15 Consequently, when ambiguity exists this notation is usually paired with either a Δ x or n−x term. For instance, although α-Linolenic
18:3(9,12,15) acid and γ-Linolenic acid are both 18:3, they may be unambiguously described as 18:3n3 and 18:3n6 fatty acids, respectively. For the same
purpose, IUPAC recommends using a list of double bond positions in parentheses, appended to the C:D notation. For instance, IUPAC
recommended notations for α-and γ-Linolenic acid are 18:3(9,12,15) and 18:3(6,9,12), respectively.