Sterculic acid

Sterculic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid containing a cyclopropene ring, which gives it specific and unusual physiological properties. The major sources of sterculic acid are the seed oils of various plants, including Sterculia foetida, cotton, and Bombax munguba. Cyclopropenoids, such as sterculic acid, inhibit the enzyme Δ9-desaturase, preventing the conversion of stearic acid to oleic acid, potentially causing significant health problems for organisms which consume them. Cyclopropenoid fatty acids have been reported to have several deleterious effects on mammals, such as carcinogenicity and acute and chronic toxicity.1,2 Because of the harmful effects of cyclopropenoids, cottonseed oil (a major world-wide edible oil which contains around 1% of these fatty acids) is required to be heat treated and hydrogenated before consumption. Sterculia foetida seeds have been used in traditional Chinese medicine as an anti-parasitic drug and recent research has found that sterculic acid and its methyl ester analog have a significant inhibitory effect towards the wide-spread parasite Toxoplasma gondii.3 Oil from Sterculia foetida has also been shown to have significant insecticide and possible anti-fungal properties, making it a potentially useful alternative to synthetic and more environmentally toxic compounds.4,5