Eleostearic acid

Eleostearic acid, (ELA) sometimes called α-eleostearic acid, is a conjugated linolenic acid (CLnA). It makes up approximately 80% of the fatty acids in tung oil and 60% of bitter gourd oil. Its high degree of unsaturation gives tung oil its properties as a drying oil. In rats, it is converted to a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). In their pioneering work on essential fatty acids, Burr, Burr and Miller compared the nutritional properties of ELA to that of its isomer alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA relieved essential fatty acid deficiency; ELA did not.

The closely related isomer β-eleostearic acid is (9E,11E,13E)-octadeca-9,11,13-trienoic acid.