Health benefits of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a group of positional and geometric (cis or trans) isomers of linoleic acid with a conjugated double bond. The most representative CLA isomers are 9c,11t-18:2 and 10t,12c-18:2. CLA has been shown to exert various potent physiological functions such as anticarcinogenic, antiobese, antidiabetic and antihypertensive properties. This means CLA can be effective to prevent lifestyle diseases or metabolic syndromes. Also, reports suggest that physiological effects of CLA are different between the isomers, for example the 10t,12c isomer is anticarcinogenic, antiobese and antidiabetic, whereas the 9c,11t isomer is mainly anticarcinogenic. We describe here the physiological properties of CLA including the possible mechanism and the possibility to benefit human health.