What is "polyunsaturated fatty acid"

n. a fatty acid, such as arachidonic acid, that contains two or more carbon to carbon double bonds

n. an unsaturated fatty acid whose carbon chain has more than one double or triple valence bond per molecule; found chiefly in fish and corn and soybean oil and safflower oil

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are fatty acids that contain more than one double bond in their backbone. This class includes many important compounds, such as essential fatty acids and those that give drying oils their characteristic property.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids can be classified in various groups by their chemical structure:

• methylene-interrupted polyenes
• conjugated fatty acids
• other PUFAs