The presence of the trans-10, cis-12 sequence does not have a body fat-lowering effect on jacaric acid, a conjugated linolenic acid isomer

The term conjugated linolenic acid (CLNA) includes multiple positional and geometric cis and trans isomers. The aim was to determine the potential effectiveness of jacaric acid, a CLNA isomer, on body fat reduction in rats fed a high-fat diet, and its ability to activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, PPARα and PPARγ. CLNA did not modify adipose tissue weight nor did it modify the expression of lipoprotein lipase, acyl-CoA oxidase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-Ia, but it did reduce that of PPARα and PPARγ. Moreover, it was not able to activate these transcriptional factors. These results demonstrate that, despite the presence of the diene sequence trans-10, cis-12, in octadecatrienoic jacaric acid, it does not have body-fat-lowering properties, probably due to the first cis double bond placed in position 8. Furthermore, unlike other CLNA isomers, such as punicic and α-eleostearic acids, jacaric acid does not activate PPARα and PPARγ.

Research highlights
► Jacaric acid lacks anti-obesity properties.
► Jacaric acid does not activate PPARγ or PPARα.
► Jacaric acid partially shifts into trans-10,cis-12 CLA in liver and adipose tissue.