What is "nervonic acid"

n. (context fatty acid English) The unsaturated fatty acid ''tetracosa-9-enoic acid'' that is a constituent of cerebrosides such as nervon

Nervonic acid (24:1, n-9) is a fatty acid. It is a monounsaturated analog of lignoceric acid (24:0). It is also known as selacholeic acid and cis-15-tetracosenoic acid.

It exists in nature as an elongation product of oleic acid (18:1 Δ9), its immediate precursor being erucic acid. Nervonic acid is particularly abundant in the white matter of animal brains and in peripheral nervous tissue where nervonyl sphingolipids are enriched in the myelin sheath of nerve fibers.

In the same way, recent studies have concluded that nervonic acid is implicated as an intermediate in the biosynthesis of nerve cell myelin.

This acid is an important member of the group of the cerebrosides, which are fatty acids of the glycosphingolipids group, important components of the muscles and the central nervous system and peripheral. Indeed, it is one of the major fatty acids in brain sphingolipids, normally accounting for approximately 40% of the total fatty acids in sphingolipids.