Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid that is a primary structural component of the human brain, cerebral cortex, skin, sperm, testicles and retina. It can be synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid or obtained directly from maternal milk or fish oil. DHA's structure is a carboxylic acid(~oic acid) with a 22-carbon chain (docosa- is Greek for 22) and six (Greek "hexa") cis double bonds (-en~); the first double bond is located at the third carbon from the omega end. Cold-water oceanic fish oils are rich in DHA. Most of the DHA in fish and multi-cellular organisms with access to cold-water oceanic foods originates from photosynthetic and heterotrophic microalgae, and becomes increasingly concentrated in organisms the further they are up the food chain. DHA is also commercially manufactured from microalgae; Crypthecodinium cohnii and another of the genus Schizochytrium.[4] DHA manufactured using microalgae is vegetarian.