A mechanistic study and review of volatile products from peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids: an aid to understanding the origins of volatile organic compounds from the human body
The assessment of volatile compounds (VOCs) for disease diagnosis is a growing area of research.
There is a need to provide hard evidence i.e. biochemical routes, to justify putative VOC
biomarkers, as in many cases this remains uncertain, which weakens their authenticity. Recently
reports of volatile hydrocarbons and or aldehydes in bodily fluids and breath have been attributed
to oxidative stress, although as discussed here, fewer compounds have been reported than expected
from a mechanistic examination. Oxidative stress can result from many disease states which produce
inflammation, and a better understanding of the interconnection between oxidative stress and the
release of VOCs from target diseased and healthy organs could greatly help diagnoses. It is
generally considered that oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids are a major source of these VOCs. An
investigation listing the many possible volatile oxidation products has not been undertaken. This is
described here us...
Source: Journal of Breath Research - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Norman Ratcliffe, Tom Wieczorek, Natalia Drabi Ĺ„ska, Oliver Gould, Alan Osborne and Ben De Lacy Costello Source Type: research