Linolenic Acid
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Related to Linolenic Acid: Alpha linolenic acid
linolenic acid
[¦lin·ə¦lin·ik ′as·əd] (biochemistry)
C17H29COOH One of the principal unsaturated fatty acids in plants and an essential fatty acid in animal nutrition; a colorless liquid that boils at 230°C (17 mmHg or 2266 pascals), soluble in many organic solvents; used in medicine and drying oils. Also known as 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Linolenic Acid
a monobasic carboxylic acid with three isolated double bonds, CH3(CH2CH=CH)3(CH2)7COOH; a colorless oily liquid. Boiling point, 184°C (at 532 newtons per sq m, or 4 mm of mercury); density, 0.905 g/cm3 at 20°C. Linolenic acid belongs to the category of irreplaceable fatty acids; it exists in triglyceride form in many vegetable oils—for example, linseed (up to 30 percent), perilla (up to 55 percent), hemp, and soy.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.