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palmitic acid

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palmitic acid

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Also known as cetylic acid, n-hexadecoic acid, hexadecoic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, 1-hexyldecanoic acid, C16 fatty acid, pentadecanecarboxylic acid, 1-pentadecanecarboxylic acid

chemical compound

AI overview

Palmitic acid is a common saturated fat found in many foods, including palm oil, meat, and dairy products. It matters because it's a major component of human diet and body composition, though nutritionists study how much of it we should consume since high intake has been linked to certain health concerns.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula
C16H32O2
Molecular weight
256.42 g/mol
IUPAC name
hexadecanoate;hydron
SMILES
[H+].CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)[O-]
InChIKey
IPCSVZSSVZVIGE-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Polar surface area
40.1 Ų
H-bond donors
1
H-bond acceptors
2
Formal charge
0

via PubChem

Research

22,086 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Mass
256.24
Show 11 more facts
Commons category
Palmitic acid
MCN code
2936.21.13
canonical SMILES
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)O
chemical formula
C₁₆H₃₂O₂
density
0.8527
melting point
61.82
flash point
192
refractive index
1.43345
boiling point
351
solubility
0.0072
partition coefficient water/octanol
7.17
Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Article

Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms. Its chemical formula is CH3(CH2)14COOH, and its C:D ratio (the total number of carbon atoms to the number of carbon-carbon double bonds) is 16:0. It is a major component of palm oil from the fruit of Elaeis guineensis (oil palms), making up to 44% of total fats. Meats, cheeses, butter, and other dairy products also contain palmitic acid, amounting to 50–60% of total fats.

Palmitates are the salts and esters of palmitic acid. The palmitate anion is the observed form of palmitic acid at physiologic pH (7.4). Major sources of C16:0 are palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, and milk fat.

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