Abstract
The lipid composition of fungi has been well studied. It is generally accepted that C16 and C18 chain length fatty acids (FAs) are the major FAs in fungi. Fungi are also characterised by the presence of both the ω3 and ω6 series of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs). The ω3 series include the PUFAs i. e. α-linolenic acid (18: 3, ω3) while the ω6 series include mainly linoleic acid (18: 2, ω6), γ-linolenic acid (18: 3, ω6), di homo γ-linolenic acid (20: 3, ω6) and arachidonic acid (20: 4, ω6). Both the ω3 and ω6 PUFAs are derived from 18: 2 ω6 by the participation of various desaturase and elongase enzymes (Smit, 1993; Van der Westhuizen, 1994).
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Lodewyk, J. et al. (1997). The Production of Biologically Active Eicosanoids by Yeasts. In: Sinzinger, H., Samuelsson, B., Vane, J.R., Paoletti, R., Ramwell, P., Wong, P.YK. (eds) Recent Advances in Prostaglandin, Thromboxane, and Leukotriene Research. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 433. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1810-9_46
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1810-9_46
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