Question

Essential fatty acids are:
(A) Arachidonic acid
(B) Arachidic acid
(C) Palmitic acid
(D) Stearic acid

Answer 1

Hint: Essential fatty acid are those fatty acids which can’t be synthesized in the human body. These kinds of fatty acids are required in diet. If the diet does not contain any essential fatty acid, then there is found disease in the human body.

Complete answer:
Fatty acids are made up of glycerol and aliphatic side chains. The aliphatic side chain can be either saturated or unsaturated in nature. There are two types of fatty acid:
Saturated fatty acids: When single bonds are present in the aliphatic side chain, then this fatty acid is known as saturated fatty acid.
Unsaturated fatty acid: When double or triple bonds are present in the aliphatic side chain, then this kind of fatty acid is known as unsaturated fatty acid.

On the basis of synthesis of fatty acids in the body, there are two kinds of fatty acids:
Essential fatty acids: These fatty acids are not synthesized in the human body. That’s why it is required in the diet. Examples: Arachidonic acid, linolenic acid, Eicosapentanoic acid etc.
Non- essential fatty acids: These fatty acids are synthesized in the human body. Examples: Stearic acid, palmitic acid and arachidic acid etc.
Arachidionic acid is found in the meat and poultry egg. Eicosapentaenoic acid is found in the vegetables, flax and chia seeds canola, walnut and soybean etc. Eicosapentaenoic acid found in oily fishes, krill oil and algae oil etc. As arachidonic can be obtained from the diet.

So, the correct answer is: “Option A”.

Note: Essential fatty acids are required in diet because the body has not the ability to synthesise them by their own. Whereas non essential fatty acids are not required in diet because the body can synthesise them by their own. Fatty acids are made up of glycerol and three fatty chains.