Omega oxidation (ω-oxidation) of fatty acid
• Omega oxidation (ω-oxidation) is a process of fatty acid metabolism in
some species of animals.
• It is an alternative pathway to beta oxidation that, instead of involving the
β carbon, involves the oxidation of the ω carbon (the carbon most distant
from the carboxyl group of the fatty acid).
• The ω (omega)-carbon (the methyl carbon) of fatty acids is oxidized to a
carboxyl group in the endoplasmic reticulum.
• The process is normally a minor catabolic pathway for medium-chain
fatty acids (10-12 carbon atoms), but becomes more important when β
oxidation is defective (because of mutation or a carnitine deficiency, for
example).
Location
In vertebrates, the enzymes for ω oxidation are located in the smooth
ER of liver and kidney cells, instead of in the mitochondria as with β-oxidation.
• Substrate: Medium to Long chain fatty acids (Fatty acid with 10-12
carbon atoms).
• End Product: Dicarboxylic acids are produced.
Steps
• The first step introduces a hydroxyl group onto the ω-carbon.
Dr Anjali Saxena Page 1
• Omega oxidation (ω-oxidation) is a process of fatty acid metabolism in
some species of animals.
• It is an alternative pathway to beta oxidation that, instead of involving the
β carbon, involves the oxidation of the ω carbon (the carbon most distant
from the carboxyl group of the fatty acid).
• The ω (omega)-carbon (the methyl carbon) of fatty acids is oxidized to a
carboxyl group in the endoplasmic reticulum.
• The process is normally a minor catabolic pathway for medium-chain
fatty acids (10-12 carbon atoms), but becomes more important when β
oxidation is defective (because of mutation or a carnitine deficiency, for
example).
Location
In vertebrates, the enzymes for ω oxidation are located in the smooth
ER of liver and kidney cells, instead of in the mitochondria as with β-oxidation.
• Substrate: Medium to Long chain fatty acids (Fatty acid with 10-12
carbon atoms).
• End Product: Dicarboxylic acids are produced.
Steps
• The first step introduces a hydroxyl group onto the ω-carbon.
Dr Anjali Saxena Page 1
