γ-亚麻酸(GLA)是18碳的直链不饱和羧酸,含于柳叶菜科的柳叶菜、月见草和紫草科的玻璃苣、牛舌草等的种子中,也含于褐藻属的海带和一些苔类中。在北美和加拿大已大量种植月见草,每年可产种子300～400吨,油脂含量约为15％,其中γ-亚麻酸在油脂中约占8％。目前这种月见草油已成为γ-亚麻酸的主要来源。最近日本已开发成功通过白被孢霉属、毛霉属等丝状菌的培养大批量生 γ-linolenic acid (GLA) is a straight-chain unsaturated carboxylic acid having 18 carbons and is contained in the seeds of the willow plants of the genus Ornaceae, the borage of the evening primrose and comfrey, the velvet tongue grass, and the like In the brown seaweed kelp and some of the moss. Evening primrose has been planted in large quantities in North America and Canada, yielding 300 to 400 tons of seeds per year, with a fat content of about 15%, of which γ-linolenic acid accounts for about 8% of fat. At present this evening primrose oil has become the main source of γ-linolenic acid. Recently, Japan has been successfully developed through the genus Mortierella, Mucor and other filamentous fungi culture in large quantities