Punicic acid (also called trichosanic acid) is a

polyunsaturated fatty acid In biochemistry and nutrition, a polyunsaturated fat is a fat that contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid (abbreviated PUFA), which is a subclass of fatty acid characterized by a backbone with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Some polyunsa ...

, 18:3 ''cis''-9, ''trans''-11, ''cis''-13. It is named for the

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

, (''Punica granatum''), and is obtained from pomegranate seed oil. It has also been found in the seed oils of

snake gourd ''Trichosanthes cucumerina'' is a tropical or subtropical vine. Its variety ''T. cucumerina'' var. ''anguina'' raised for its strikingly long fruit. In Asia, it is eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash and in Africa, the red ...

. Punicic acid is a conjugated linolenic acid or CLnA; i.e. it has three

conjugated double bonds In physical organic chemistry, a conjugated system is a system of connected p-orbitals with delocalized electrons in a molecule, which in general lowers the overall energy of the molecule and increases stability. It is conventionally represent ...

. It is chemically similar to the

conjugated linoleic acid Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are a family of isomers of linoleic acid. In principle, 28 isomers are possible. CLA is found mostly in the meat and dairy products derived from ruminants. The two C=C double bonds are conjugated (i.e., separated ...

s, or CLA, which have two. It has also been classified as an "n-5" or "omega-5" polyunsaturated fatty acid. In lab rats, punicic acid was converted to the CLA

rumenic acid Rumenic acid, also known as bovinic acid, is a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) found in the fat of ruminants and in dairy products. It is an omega-7 trans fatty acid. Its lipid shorthand name is cis-9, trans-11 18:2 acid. The name was proposed by ...

(9Z11E-CLA). ''In vitro'', it shows anti-invasive activity against prostate cancer cells. OLETF rats—a strain which becomes obese—remained relatively lean when punicic acid was added to their feed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punicic Acid Fatty acids Alkenoic acids Polyenes

See also

References