What Is Adrenic Acid (22:4) & What Foods Can I Find It In?

Cooked bacon on a plate
Bacon contains adrenic acid

Adrenic acid, AdA, 22:4, is also known as Docosatetraenoic acid.

It’s a naturally occurring polyunsaturated conjugated fatty acid.

Adrenic acid is vital for the brain.

Adrenic acid is an adrenal steroid hormone that has a variety of effects on the body.

Table of Contents

Adrenic Acid In The Blood

Adrenic acid is a very long-chain fatty acid. (source )

Adrenic acid can be found in blood and myelin tissue. (source )

Adrenic Acid, Needed For The Brain

Adrenic acid is the third most abundant fatty acid in the adult brain. (source )

But one of the most abundant fatty acids in an infant's brain. (source )

It is especially needed for neural tissue development. (source )

Benefits Of Adrenic Acid

Adrenic acid is an adrenal steroid hormone that has a variety of effects on the body.

It acts as an anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, and an anticonvulsant.

It is a direct-acting muscle relaxant.

It can be used to treat cardiac insufficiency.

It is a part of the treatment for severe diarrhea in cases of rotavirus, and of loperamide for the treatment of diarrhea in cases of other causes.

Foods You Can Find Adrenic Acid, AdA, In

You find adrenic acid mostly in american indian and alaska native food, poultry, spices and herbs, sausages and luncheon meat.

Examples of food sources include

Foods in our nutrition tool

You can find regularly updated top ranked lists of foods for over 200+ nutrients in our nutrition tool.

If you are interested in what foods contain the most adrenic acid, we recommend you visit our tool.

Here's our top ranked list of foods that contain Adrenic Acid, AdA (22:4).

Sara Niemelä

co-founder Care Omnia, Head Content Creator

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Nutrition is my passion. I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours reading, analyzing, categorizing and comparing research studies.

I’m a wife and a mother of three. I enjoy the outdoors, cooking, and spending time with my family.