Phytanic acid – a tetramethyl-branched fatty acid in food

✍ Scribed by Walter Vetter; Markus Schröder

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 701 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0956-666X
• DOI: 10.1002/lite.201100127

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Phytanic acid is a tetramethyl‐branched isoprenoid fatty acid. Its presence in food is linked with chlorophyll, which contains its precursor, i. e. the alcohol side‐chain phytol. The bioconversion of phytol into phytanic acid is effective particularly in the rumen and in the marine environment. Thus, milk, other dairy products and meat from ruminants as well as fish contain the highest concentrations of phytanic acid in the range of ˜100–500 mg/100 g lipids. Phytanic acid has been proposed as a marker for organic milk because its abundance can be linked to the amount of chlorophyll present in the cows' diet. Phytanic acid is also involved in a very rare but dramatic disease, and persons suffering from the so‐called Refsum syndrome have to restrict themselves to a diet with low levels of phytanic acid.