fatty acid

Overview

Fatty acids are carboxylic acids with hydrocarbon chains of varying lengths and degrees of saturation, constituting one of the most fundamental classes of biological molecules. They serve as structural components of phospholipids and glycolipids in cellular membranes, as energy-dense substrates for mitochondrial beta-oxidation, and as precursors to a broad range of bioactive lipid mediators including eicosanoids, endocannabinoids, and specialized pro-resolving mediators. Classified broadly into saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated subtypes — and further by chain length into short-, medium-, long-, and very-long-chain species — fatty acids occupy a central position in energy homeostasis, inflammatory signaling, and membrane dynamics. Their metabolism is tightly regulated by hormonal cues, notably insulin, and disruption of this regulation is a hallmark of numerous cardiometabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and heart failure.

Beyond their classical roles in energy metabolism, fatty acids act as ligands for nuclear receptors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and as substrates for lipid kinases and acyltransferases, enabling them to directly influence gene expression, immune cell phenotype, and signal transduction. Long-chain fatty acids in particular have emerged as key regulators of immune cell function, with growing evidence that fatty acid availability shapes the metabolic and functional identity of cells in the tumor microenvironment, modulates antigen-presenting capacity of B-cells, and contributes to resistance mechanisms in cancer immunotherapy. Their presence across virtually every tissue and biofluid makes them broadly informative metabolomic biomarkers, detectable in plasma, extracellular vesicles, and complex food or plant matrices alike.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications have examined fatty acid in a range of biochemical, nutritional, and disease-related contexts. In plant and food science, fatty acid profiling by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to characterize seed oils from Opuntia ficus-indica, identifying a broad phytochemical mixture that included fatty acids alongside carboxylic acids, aldehydes, and ketones. The study compared Soxhlet, maceration, and ultrasound-assisted extraction and found that the maceration-derived oil showed the strongest antioxidant performance and the largest antimicrobial inhibition zones against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Candida albicans. Another review focused on Lunaria annua as a next-generation industrial oilseed, emphasizing its distinctive fatty acid profile, especially high erucic and nervonic acid content, and summarizing advances in metabolomics, enzymology, and comparative genomics that have improved understanding of fatty acid biosynthesis pathways and candidate genes linked to oil composition.

Fatty acid handling has also been investigated in delivery and digestion systems. In a study of fish oil encapsulation, bovine bone gelatin-chitosan complex coacervates were used to prepare oil powders, and the molecular weight of chitosan was shown to influence encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, oxidative stability, and gastrointestinal release behavior. Lower molecular weights promoted faster dissolution and higher fatty acid release in a gastrointestinal model, whereas higher molecular weights improved encapsulation efficiency. These findings highlight how formulation variables can alter fatty acid release from encapsulated oils.

In disease and metabolism research, fatty acids were detected as part of the metabolic landscape in tumor organoids analyzed by mass spectrometry imaging. This platform mapped phospholipids, fatty acids, taurine, glutathione, and other metabolites in colorectal cancer organoids cocultured with immune cells, revealing that immune-resistant organoids had reprogrammed phospholipid metabolism and preserved a larger phospholipid pool under immune pressure. In a separate metabolic study comparing caloric restriction with fasting-refeeding cycles in mice, plasma free fatty acids were measured alongside insulin, hepatic mTOR signaling, ketogenesis, and transcriptomic rhythms. Caloric restriction was associated with improved glucose and fatty acid metabolism, whereas fasting-refeeding cycles led to glucose intolerance and hepatic fat accumulation, underscoring distinct regulatory effects on lipid metabolism.

Fatty acid metabolism also appeared in a volatilomics study of cherry juice aroma formation, where the mechanism underlying flavor differences in Lapins was linked to the metabolism of pyruvic acid, Amino Acids, fatty acids, and carotenoids. Although fatty acids were not the primary analytes, they were implicated as part of the metabolic network contributing to aroma development and varietal differences.

Key Publications

NEWJun Lunaria annua as a next-generation oilseed: a multidisciplinary review of its biochemical, genetic, and industrial potential. (Planta, 2026, PMID 42373871): "This review highlights Lunaria annua as a next‑generation industrial oilseed with a unique fatty acid profile and emerging genomic tools, positioning it for significant improvement and broad applications in biolubricants, bioplastics, and bio-based therapeutics."
May Phytochemical profiling and in vitro biological activities of Opuntia ficus-indica oil extracted by different methods. (Scientific reports, 2026, PMID 42056158): "Approximately thirty bioactive compounds were identified, including fatty acids, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, and ketones."
Apr Effect of molecular weight of chitosan on its complex coacervation with gelatin for oil encapsulation. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 42008898): "low molecular weights (≤150 kDa) induced faster dissolution and higher fatty acid releases (43.19%-50.28% vs. 26.13%-27.56% at 2 h) than high ones."
Apr Integrating Mass Spectrometry Imaging with Tumor Organoid-Immunity Platform to Identify Metabolic Adaptations in Tumor Immune Resistance. (Analytical chemistry, 2026, PMID 41920069): "...we achieved in situ MSI mapping of phospholipids, fatty acids, taurine, glutathione, and other metabolites within tumor organoids."
Apr Anticipatory metabolic reprogramming distinguishes caloric restriction from fasting-refeeding cycles. (bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026, PMID 41889977): "In agreement with the expression data, CR improves glucose and fatty acid metabolism while fasting leads to glucose intolerance and fat accumulation in the liver induced glucose intolerance and hepatic steatosis."
May Exploring aroma descriptions of different cherry juice and the mechanism of aroma formation in Lapins using volatilomics and machine learning. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41861739): "The mechanism of aroma formation was analyzed, which involved the metabolism of pyruvic acid, amino acids, fatty acids and carotenoids."