Linoleic acid (LA) is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. It is a colorless liquid at room temperature. In physiological literature, it has a lipid number of 18:2 cis,cis-9,12. From the chemistry perspective, linoleic acid is a carboxylic acid with an 18-carbon chain and two cis double bonds; with the first double bond located at the sixth carbon from the methyl end.[3]
Linoleic acid belongs to one of the two families of essential fatty acids, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it from other food components.[4]