Docosahexaenoic acid

(CC) Image: David E. Volk
docosahexaenoic acid
IUPAC name: Synonyms: cervonic acid, cervonate Formula: C22H32O2
Uses:	natural nutrient
Properties:	omega-3 fatty acid
Hazards:
Mass (g/mol): CAS #: 328.48831 6217-54-5

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), more correctly called docosa-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z-hexaenoic acid, is a naturally occuring omega-3 fatty acid. It is a fatty acid that contains a linear chain of twenty-two carbon atoms, with double bonds occuring at six positions, all with the cis configuration. It is called an omega-3 fatty acid because from the aliphatic end of the molecule, always referred to as the omega carbon, the first double bond occurs at carbon 20, the omega-3 carbon. Like other omega-3 fatty acids, it can be found in fish. Most of the DHA in fish and other more complex organisms originates in microalgae of the genus Schizochytrium, and concentrates in organisms as it moves up the food chain.