 In a variety of mammalian species, vernolic acid is made by the metabolism of linoleic acid by certain cytochrome P450 epoxygenase enzymes; under these circumstances it is termed leukotoxin because of its toxic effects on leukocytes and other cell types and of its ability to produce multiple organ failure and respiratory distress when injected into rodent animal models of the acute respiratory distress syndrome.These effects appear due to the conversion of vernolic acid to its dihydroxy counterparts, 12"S",13"R"- and 12"R",13"S"-dihydroxy-"cis"-9-octadecenoic acids by soluble epoxide hydrolase (this dihydroxy mixture has been termed leukotoxin diol).Some studies suggest but have not yet proven that vernolic acid is responsible for or contributes to multiple organ failure, respiratory distress, and certain other cataclysmic diseases in humans (see epoxygenase subsection on linoleic acid).