docosahexaenoic acid

English

Docosahexaenoic acid

Noun

docosahexaenoic acid (uncountable)

1. (organic chemistry) An essential 22-carbon atom omega-3 fatty acid with six cis double bonds, found in fish oils, metabolized to form the docosanoids.

Synonyms

• DHA
• cervonic acid
• (fatty acids nomenclature) all-cis-docosa-4,7,10,13,16,19-hexa-enoic acid (shorthand name: 22:6(n-3))

Coordinate terms

• docosahexaenoate, cervonate (coordinate as a base versus an acid, but synonymous in the practical sense that the conjugate base and conjugate acid coexist in solution)