Alpha-linolenic acid

Information about Alpha-linolenic acid

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential polyunsaturated fatty acids that have diverse functions in normal metabolism and health and are used as nutritional supplements for general health and for disease prevention and as prescription drugs for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia.

Liver safety of Alpha-linolenic acid

The omega-3 fatty acids are generally safe and well tolerated and have not been implicated in causing serum enzyme elevations or clinically apparent liver injury.

Mechanism of action of Alpha-linolenic acid

The omega-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that serve several important functions in normal metabolism and health. Omega-3 refers to their common structural feature of an unsaturated double bond at the third carbon bond from the “omega” end of the long chain fatty acid (n-3).

Essential fatty acids

There are three essential omega-3 fatty acids: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA is an 18-carbon fatty acid with 3 double bonds (18:3n-3) and is found in plant oils such as walnut, flaxseed and canola oil. EPA, a 21-carbon molecule with 5 double bonds (21:5n-3), and DHA, a 22-carbon molecule with 6 double bonds (22:6n-3), are found in marine oils such as fish oils, squid oils and krill oil. Being essential, these fatty acids are not (or poorly) synthesized by humans and the necessary amounts must be provided in the diet. The amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in a typical Western diet can be marginal or inadequate, particularly EPA and DHA in persons with limited fish intake. For these reasons, the omega-3 fatty acids are some of the most commonly used nutrition supplements. They have been proposed to be not only necessary for good health, but also to be effective in prevention of many chronic conditions, including different forms of cancer, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, developmental disabilities, depression, bipolar illness, cognitive decline, Alzheimer disease, macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and allergic conditions. However, efficacy of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in any of these conditions has not been proven and results of prospective controlled trials have been largely negative or at most conflicting.

Brand name for Alpha-linolenic acid

Omega-3 fatty acids are popular nutritional supplements and hundreds of products are available under many commercial names such as GNC Krill Oil, Nordic Natural DHA, Carlson Fish Oil Q, iHealth Overga-3, Jarrow Formulas Flaxseed Oil, ProThera Eicosamax Fish, and Swanson EFAs, among others. These products are usually in the form of capsules and vary widely in concentration of the individual omega-3 fatty acids, but are generally in the range of 250 mg to 1,000 mg of total omega-3 fatty acids and recommended as being taken once daily.

Side effects of Alpha-linolenic acid

Side effects of omega-3 fatty acid and fish oil supplements in these doses are minimal, but may include mild gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea, diarrhea and headache. More clinically significant side effects include platelet dysfunction and an increased risk of bleeding, particularly in patients on anticoagulant and antithrombotic therapy.

Herbal and dietary supplements

• Aloe Vera, Ashwagandha, Astragalus, Bilberry, Black Cohosh, Butterbur, Cat's Claw, Cascara, Chaparral, Comfrey, Crofelemer, Echinacea, Ephedra, Fenugreek, Flavocoxid, Garcinia cambogia, Germander, Ginkgo, Ginseng, Greater Celandine, Green Tea, Hoodia, Hops, Horse Chestnut, Hyssop, Kava Kava, Kratom, Lavender, Maca, Margosa Oil, Melatonin, Milk Thistle, Noni, Passionflower, Pennyroyal Oil, Red Yeast Rice, Resveratrol, Saw Palmetto, Senna, Skullcap, Spirulina, St. John's Wort, Turmeric, Usnic Acid, Valerian, Yohimbine

Chinese and Other Asian Herbal Medicines

• Ba Jiao Lian, Bol Gol Zhee, Chi R Yun, Jin Bu Huan, Ma Huang, Sho Saiko To and Dai Saiko To, Shou Wu Pian

Multi-Ingredient Nutritional Supplements

• Herbalife, Hydroxycut, Move Free, OxyELITE Pro, SLIMQUICK

See also Nutritional supplements

Comprehensive list of common dietary supplements with detailed product information including brand name, how it is supplied, net contents, product ID etc, sorted alphabetically.

List of dietary supplements sorted alphabetically

A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z – W – 0-9

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Dietary supplements

A Acai Aloe Vera Anabolic Steroids Astragalus Vitamin A B Bilberry Bitter Orange Black Cohosh Botanical Dietary Supplements Butterbur Vitamin B12 Vitamin B6 C Calcium Carnitine Cartilage Cat's Claw Chamomile Chasteberry Chondroitin Chromium Cinnamon Coenzyme Q10 Colloidal Silver Cranberry Vitamin C

D Dandelion Dietary Supplements Vitamin D E Echinacea Ephedra Essiac/Flor-Essence European Elder Evening Primrose Oil Vitamin E F Fenugreek Feverfew Fish Oil Flaxseed Folate G Garlic Ginger Ginkgo Ginseng Glucosamine Goldenseal Grape Seed Extract Green Tea

H Hawthorn Herbal Dietary Supplements Hoodia Horse Chestnut I Iodine Iron K Kava Vitamin K L Lavender Licorice Root M Magnesium Melatonin Milk Thistle Mistletoe Multivitamin/mineral Supplements N Noni O Omega-3 Fatty Acids

P PC-SPES Peppermint Oil R Red Clover S Sage SAMe (S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine) Saw Palmetto Selenium Soy St. John's Wort T Tea Thunder God Vine Turmeric V Valerian Vitamin A Vitamin B12 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin K Y Yohimbe Z Zinc

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• Dailymed label info on Alpha-linolenic acid
• FDA Alpha-linolenic acid

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