Phytanic acid (or 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl hexadecanoic acid) is a branched chain fatty acid that humans can obtain through the consumption of dairy products, ruminant animal fats, and certain fish. Western diets are estimated to provide 50-100 mg of phytanic acid per day. In a study conducted in Oxford, individuals who consumed meat had, on average, a 6.7-fold higher geometric mean plasma phytanic acid concentration than did vegans.
Unlike most fat...
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Phytanic acid (or 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl hexadecanoic acid) is a branched chain fatty acid that humans can obtain through the consumption of dairy products, ruminant animal fats, and certain fish. Western diets are estimated to provide 50-100 mg of phytanic acid per day. In a study conducted in Oxford, individuals who consumed meat had, on average, a 6.7-fold higher geometric mean plasma phytanic acid concentration than did vegans.
Unlike most fatty acids, phytanic acid cannot be metabolized by β-oxidation. Instead, it undergoes α-oxidation in the peroxisome, where it is converted into pristanic acid by the removal of one carbon. Pristanic acid can undergo several rounds of β-oxidation in the peroxisome to form medium chain fatty acids that can be converted to carbon dioxide and water in mitochondria.
Individuals with adult Refsum disease, an autosomal recessive neurological disorder caused by mutations in the PHYH gene, have impaired α-oxidation activity and accumulate large stores of...
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