ReviewLipids2002
What is the role of alpha-linolenic acid for mammals?
Review in Lipids, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 269 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predictors of treatment response in young people at ultra-high risk for psychosis who received long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.Translational psychiatry · 2015Trial
- Forage selection of dairy cows grazing contrasting multispecies swards is influenced by cow characteristics.Veterinary and animal science · 2026Article
- Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of chia (Salvia hispanica L.), a rich source of omega-3 fatty acid.Transgenic research · 2025Article
- Mare Milk and Foal Plasma Fatty Acid Composition in Foals Born to Mares Fed Either Flax or Fish Oil During Late Gestation.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- In Vitro Studies of the Effect of Oil Emulsions from Transgenic Flax Varieties on the Treatment of Wound Healing and Care of Human Skin with the Tendency to Inflammation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Multiple benefits of herbs: Polygonaceae species in veterinary pharmacology and livestock nutrition.Veterinary and animal science · 2025Review
- Navigating my career in lipid research.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Review
- Review
- An Integrated Profiling of Liver Metabolome and Transcriptome of Pigs Fed Diets with Different Starch Sources.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Physicochemical properties of edible cricket oils: Implications for use in pharmaceutical and food industries.Future foods : a dedicated journal for sustainability in food science · 2024Article
- Omega-3 and -6 Fatty Acids Alter the Membrane Lipid Composition and Vesicle Size to Regulate Exocytosis and Storage of Catecholamines.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2024Article
- The balance of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids in canine, feline, and equine nutrition: exploring sources and the significance of alpha-linolenic acid.Journal of animal science · 2024Review
- Sustainable pig diets: partial grain replacement with former food products and its impact on meat quality.Journal of animal science · 2024Article
- Eobania vermiculata whole-body muscle extract-loaded chitosan nanoparticles enhanced skin regeneration and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines in vivo.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2023Article
- The Effect of Ethyl Esters of Linseed Oil on the Changes in the Fatty Acid Profile of Hair Coat Sebum, Blood Serum and Erythrocyte Membranes in Healthy Dogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Comparative Analysis of Transcriptome Profiles Reveals Distinct and Organ-Dependent Genomic and Nongenomic Actions of Thyroid Hormone inThyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association · 2023Article
- Demonstrating a link between diet, gut microbiota and brain:Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Nutritional Composition, Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Different Samples of Water Boatmen Eggs (Hemiptera: Corixidae).Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A Comprehensive Mass Spectrometry-Based Workflow for Clinical Metabolomics Cohort Studies.Metabolites · 2022Article
- Impacts of Fortifying Nile Tilapia (Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This review examines the data pertaining to an important and often underrated EFA, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). It examines its sources, metabolism, and biological effects in various population studies, in vitro, animal, and human intervention studies. The main role of ALA was assumed to be as a precursor to the longer-chain n-3 PUFA, EPA and DHA, and particularly for supplying DHA for neural tissue. This paper reveals that the major metabolic route of ALA metabolism is beta-oxidation. Furthermore, ALA accumulates in specific sites in the body of mammals (carcass, adipose, and skin), and only a small proportion of the fed ALA is converted to DHA. There is some evidence that ALA may be involved with skin and fur function. There is continuing debate regarding whether ALA has actions of its own in relation to the cardiovascular system and neural function. Cardiovascular disease and cancer are two of the major burdens of disease in the 21st century, and emerging evidence suggests that diets containing ALA are associated with reductions in total deaths and sudden cardiac death. There may be aspects of the action and, more importantly, the metabolism of ALA that need to be elucidated, and these will help us understand the biological effects of this compound better. Additionally, we must not forget that ALA is part of the whole diet and should be seen in this context, not in isolation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.