Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A General Introduction of Myristic Acid

Myristic acid
Myristic acid is a straight-chain 14-carbon fatty acid. Diets rich in myristic acid, along with lauric and palmitic acids, are associated with increased serum levels of low densisity lipoprotein cholesterol. Myristic acid, also called tetradecanoic acid, is a common saturated fatty acid with the molecular formula CH3(CH2)12COOH. A myristate is a salt or ester of myristic acid.
This compound is a saturated fatty acid. Thus, all of the bonds except for the COOH group are saturated with hydrogen molecules. There are no double bonds. Another way of designating the molecule is 14:0, which indicates a carbon chain length of 14 and a lack of double bonds.
The name myristic acid comes from nutmeg, or Myristica fragrans. 75% of nutmeg butter consists of trimyristin, a derivative of myristic acid. Coconut oil is also a prominent source of this compound, along with palm oil and butter fat. Myristic acid is a white crystalline powder that is not soluble in water. The salt of this compound is known as myristate.


Read More: Myristic acid for sale

No comments:

Post a Comment