Palmitoleic acid is a monounsaturated, non-essential fatty acid from the omega 7 series. It is therefore a molecule formed by a long carbon chain (16 carbon atoms in all), which starts with a carboxyl group (COOH), ends with a methyl group (CH3) and presents in the central part a series of carbon atoms respectively coupled to two hydrogen atoms. An exception to what has been described is a single Carbon-Carbon pair, which - held together by a double bond - binds a single hydrogen atom per carbon unit. This pair involves the seventh and eighth carbon from the methyl end (terminal); this explains why palmitoleic acid belongs to the omega 7 series.
The natural sources of palmitoleic acid are quite numerous, but the content is significant only in the sea buckthorn oil ( Hippophae rhamnoides ) and in that of macadamia ( Macadamia integrifolia ); these oils contain, respectively, about 40 and 17% of palmitoleic acid.
As mentioned, this nutrient can be synthesized by the body from other fatty acids, in particular from the palmitic (C16: 0) by intervention of the delta nine desaturase enzyme (the palmitoleico is both an omega 7 and a delta 9, since if you start counting starting from the carboxyl end, the first carbon atom involved in the double bond is the number 9).
Despite belonging to the group of monounsaturated fatty acids, from the health point of view palmitoleic acid is comparable to palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid with a pro-atherogenic effect:
supplementation with palmitoleic acid increases the levels of bad cholesterol, LDL, in hypercholesterolemic patients, even when the dietary intake of cholesterol is low; this increase is comparable to that obtained through the palmitic acid supplementation, but clearly superior to that induced by the integration with oleic acid. Moreover, compared to palmitic acid, palmitoleic caused a greater reduction in HDL good cholesterol. Biblioografia
From a health point of view, it is therefore not advisable to replace the traditional sources of unsaturated fatty acids (olive oil, seed oils and fish oils) with sea buckthorn oil or macadamia oil.
Emollient and moisturizing properties are ascribed to cosmetic products containing sources of palmitoleic acid. However, this fatty acid, along with other members of the omega-7 series, has been identified as a possible cause of the characteristic smell of aged skin.
Recently, "palmitoleic acid" has also been ascribed "anti-fattening" properties, due to its ability to act as a signaling molecule that prevents the accumulation of dietary fat in adipose reserves (in genetically modified rats); palmitoleic acid would seem to stimulate the action of insulin on a muscular level and to oppose hepatic steatosis.
