Conjugated Linolenic Acid powder (CLA)

Conjugated linoleic acid refers to a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid (18 carbons) with two double bonds separated by one single bond. Further, each double bond can be in the cis or trans configuration. Therefore, many forms of CLA are possible (Sehat et al., 1999; Yurawecz et al., 1999a, b), but the main form present in foods from ruminant animals is the cis- 9, trans-11 CLA, which was recently given the trivial name rumenic acid (RA; Kramer et al., 1998a). The presence of this fatty acid in ruminant products arises from its formation in the rumen. Conjugated linoleic acid is unique among the naturally occurring anticarcinogens in that it is potent at extremely low levels and present in foods from ruminant animals.