Branched Fatty Acids

Branched fatty acids can be considered derivatives of straight chain fatty acids containing at least one secondary carbon in their fatty acid chain. Depending on the type, branched fatty acids can even contain tertiary carbons. Very often, branches are constituted by one or more methyl groups at saturated fatty acids. Generally, branched fatty acids as compared to straight chain fatty acids are rare species and occur in the realms of bacteria, plants, and animals.

Branched fatty acids are called iso-methyl branched fatty acids, when the branch is one carbon from the methyl terminus of the fatty acid. The branching carbon is in this case called the penultimate carbon. When the branching point is two carbons from the methyl end the branching point is called the ante-penultimate carbon. Consequently these species are called anteiso-methyl branched fatty acids. These fatty acids can range from 8 to 30 carbons in chain length. In humans, the fetal vernix caseosa is, for example, enriched...