Triple-bonded unsaturated fatty acids are redox active compounds.
Unsaturated fatty acids with triple bonds are used as inhibitors of unsaturated fatty acid metabolism or cytochrome P450 reactions because they are believed to be chemically inert. In this paper we use in vitro cytochrome C reduction to show that two commonly used triple-bonded unsaturated fatty acids are in fact potent electron transfer agents and could affect the multiple cellular systems that are redox-modulated.