Nucleic acid Nucleic acid Nucleic acids are the biopolymers, or small biomolecules, essential to all known forms of life. The term "nucleic acid" is the overall name for DNA and RNA. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. If the sugar is a compound ribose, the polymer is RNA (ribonucleic acid); if the sugar is derived from ribose as deoxyribose, the polymer is DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Nucleic acids are the most important of all biomolecules. They are found in abundance in all living things, where they
Petroselinic acid in Garryaceae. In Picramniaceae, petroselinic acid is accompanied by tariric acid. In addition, petroselinic acid has been found in minor amounts in several fats of plant and animal origin, including in human sources. The occurrence of petroselinic acid as the major fatty acid is used in chemosystematics as a proof of a close relationship of several families within the Apiales as well as within the Garryales. Besides petroselinic acid, oleic acid has been shown to be present in all cases examined. Fatty acids mostly occur as their esters, commonly the triglycerides, which are the greasy materials in many natural oils.