MOLECULE

Cis-Vaccenic acid

Cis-Vaccenic acid, (11Z)-11-octadecenoic acid, 18:1 cis-11, also known as vaccenate or asclepic acid, is an isomer of vaccenic acid. It belongs to the class of organic compounds known as long-chain fatty acids. These are fatty acids with an aliphatic tail that contains between 13 and 21 carbon atoms. Cis-Vaccenic acid is a very hydrophobic molecule, practically insoluble in water, and relatively neutral. Cis-Vaccenic acid, an omega-7 fatty acid, is a naturally occurring trans fatty acid found in Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) oil. Vaccenic acid was first discovered in 1928 in animal fats and butter. Mammals convert it into rumenic acid, a conjugated linoleic acid. In a study of chemically induced mammary carcinogenesis in rats, vaccenic acid, when converted to cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) by delta 9-desaturase, had anticarcinogenic properties (PMID: 15465769). Cis-Vaccenic acid is one of several unsaturated fatty acid that are found in the essential oil of cannabis seed (PMID: 6991645).