General Description
Colorless to straw colored liquid. A polyunsaturated fatty acid essential to human diet.
Reactivity Profile
LINOLEIC ACID(60-33-3) reacts to neutralize bases. May react vigorously with oxidizing agents. May react exothermically with reducing agents to release hydrogen gas.
Air & Water Reactions
Sensitive to air and light. . Oxidizes across carbon double bonds
Fire Hazard
Flash point data for this chemical are not available. LINOLEIC ACID is probably combustible.
Description
Linoleic acid is an essential ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA).
1 It is the most abundant PUFA in a variety of foods, and dietary sources of linoleic acid include vegetable oils, meats, nuts, seeds, and eggs. Linoleic acid (30 μM) increases migration of IEC-6 rat intestinal epithelial cells in a wound healing assay.
2 Rats fed a linoleate-deficient diet exhibit decreased body weight and an increased ratio of eicosatrienoate to arachidonate in liver and serum phospholipids compared with rats fed a control diet, as well as mild scaling of forepaw skin.
3
Chemical Properties
Linoleic acid occurs as a colorless to light-yellow-colored oil.
Chemical Properties
Liquid at room temperature, colorless
Definition
An unsaturated carboxylic
acid that occurs in LINSEED OIL and
other plant oils. It is used in making paints
and varnishes.
Definition
ChEBI: An octadecadienoic acid in which the two double bonds are at positions 9 and 12 and have Z (cis) stereochemistry.
Definition
linoleic acid: A liquid polyunsaturatedfatty acid with two doublebonds, CH3(CH2)4CH:CHCH2-CH:CH(CH2)7COOH.Linoleic acid isabundant in plant fats and oils,e.g.linseed oil, groundnut oil,and soyabeanoil.It is an essential fatty acid.
Production Methods
Linoleic acid is obtained by extraction from various vegetable oils
such as safflower oil.
Pharmaceutical Applications
Linoleic acid is used in topical transdermal formulations, in
oral formulations as an absorption enhancer, and in topical
cosmetic formulations as an emulsifying agent, and in aqueous
microemulsions.It is also used in parenteral emulsions for total
parenteral nutrition and in nonprescription oral dietary supplements.
Biochem/physiol Actions
Linoleic acid increases cell proliferation and gene expression of PPARα and its target genes such as acyl-CoA oxidase in primary duck hepatocytes .
Safety
Linoleic acid is widely used in cosmetics and topical pharmaceutical
formulations, and is generally regarded as a nontoxic material. On
exposure to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes, linoleic acid can
cause mild irritation.
storage
Linoleic acid is sensitive to air, light, moisture, and heat. It should be
stored in a tightly sealed container under an inert atmosphere and
refrigerated.
Incompatibilities
Linoleic acid is incompatible with bases, strong oxidizing agents,
and reducing agents.
Regulatory Status
GRAS listed. Approved for use in foods in Europe and the USA.