Polyunsaturated fat

Polyunsaturated: a lipid that has two or more double bonds in its hydrocarbon chain.

In biochemistry and nutrition, a polyunsaturated fat is a fat that contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid (abbreviated PUFA), which is a subclass of fatty acid characterized by a backbone with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds.

Some polyunsaturated fatty acids – alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid – are called "essential" because they cannot be synthesized by humans and must be obtained from the diet. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are precursors to and are derived from polyunsaturated fats, which include drying oils.

Chemical structure of the polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid
3D representation of linoleic acid in a bent conformation
Chemical structure of α-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential omega−3 fatty acid
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