Palmitic acid

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Palmitate)
Jump to: navigation, search
Palmitic acid[1]
Palmitic acid.svg
Palmitic-acid-3D-balls.png
Names
IUPAC name
hexadecanoic acid
Other names
C16:0 (Lipid numbers), palmic acid
Identifiers
57-10-3 YesY
ChEMBL ChEMBL82293 N
ChemSpider 960 N
1055
Jmol 3D model Interactive image
PubChem 985
  • InChI=1S/C16H32O2/c1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16(17)18/h2-15H2,1H3,(H,17,18) N
    Key: IPCSVZSSVZVIGE-UHFFFAOYSA-N N
  • InChI=1/C16H32O2/c1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16(17)18/h2-15H2,1H3,(H,17,18)
    Key: IPCSVZSSVZVIGE-UHFFFAOYAJ
  • CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)O
Properties
C16H32O2
Molar mass 256.43 g·mol−1
Appearance white crystals
Density 0.852 g/cm3 (25 °C)[2]
0.8527 g/cm3 (62 °C)[3]
Melting point 62.9 °C (145.2 °F; 336.0 K) [8]
Boiling point 351–352 °C (664–666 °F; 624–625 K) [4]
271.5 °C (520.7 °F; 544.6 K)
at 100 mmHg[2]
215 °C (419 °F; 488 K)
at 15 mmHg
4.6 mg/L (0 °C)
7.19 mg/L (20 °C)
8.26 mg/L (30 °C)
9.9 mg/L (45 °C)
11.8 mg/L (60 °C)[5]
Solubility soluble in amyl acetate, alcohol, CCl4,[5] C6H6
very soluble in CHCl3[3]
Solubility in ethanol 2 g/100 mL (0 °C)
2.8 g/100 mL (10 °C)
9.2 g/100 mL (20 °C)
31.9 g/100 mL (40 °C)[6]
Solubility in methyl acetate 7.81 g/100 g[5]
Solubility in ethyl acetate 10.7 g/100 g[5]
Vapor pressure 0.051 mPa (25 °C)[3]
1.08 kPa (200 °C)
28.06 kPa (300 °C)[7]
Acidity (pKa) 4.78
1.43 (70 °C)[3]
Viscosity 7.8 cP (70 °C)[3]
Thermochemistry
463.36 J/mol·K[7]
452.37 J/mol·K[7]
-892 kJ/mol[7]
10030.6 kJ/mol[3]
Vapor pressure {{{value}}}
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
N verify (what is YesYN ?)
Infobox references

Palmitic acid, or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is the most common fatty acid (saturated) found in animals, plants and microorganisms.[9] Its chemical formula is CH3(CH2)14COOH. As its name indicates, it is a major component of the oil from palm trees (palm oil), but can also be found in meats, cheeses, butter, and dairy products. Palmitate is a term for the salts and esters of palmitic acid. The palmitate anion is the observed form of palmitic acid at physiologic pH (7.4).

Aluminium salts of palmitic acid and naphthenic acid were combined during World War II to produce napalm. The word "napalm" is derived from the words naphthenic acid and palmitic acid.

Occurrence and production

Palmitic acid was discovered by Edmond Frémy in 1840, in saponified palm oil.[10] This remains the primary industrial route for its production, with the triglycerides (fats) in palm oil being hydrolysed by high temperature water (above 200 °C or 390 °F) and the resulting mixture fractionally distilled to give the pure product.[11]

Palmitic acid is naturally produced by a wide range of other plants and organisms, typically at low levels. It is naturally present in butter, cheese, milk and meat also as well as cocoa butter, soybean oil and sunflower oil. The cetyl ester of palmitic acid (cetyl palmitate) occurs in spermaceti.

Biochemistry

Excess carbohydrates in the body are converted to palmitic acid. Palmitic acid is the first fatty acid produced during fatty acid synthesis and the precursor to longer fatty acids. As a consequence, palmitic acid is a major body component of animals. In humans, one analysis found it to comprise 21–30% (molar) of human depot fat,[12] and it is a major, but highly variable, lipid component of human breast milk.[13] Palmitate negatively feeds back on acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), which is responsible for converting acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA, which in turn is used to add to the growing acyl chain, thus preventing further palmitate generation.[14] In biology, some proteins are modified by the addition of a palmitoyl group in a process known as palmitoylation. Palmitoylation is important for membrane localisation of many proteins.

Applications

Palmitic acid is used to produce soaps, cosmetics, and release agents. These applications utilize sodium palmitate, which is commonly obtained by saponification of palm oil. To this end, palm oil, rendered from palm tree (species Elaeis Guineensis), is treated with sodium hydroxide (in the form of caustic soda or lye), which causes hydrolysis of the ester groups. This procedure affords glycerol and sodium palmitate.

Because it is inexpensive and adds texture to processed foods (convenience food), palmitic acid and its sodium salt find wide use including foodstuffs. Sodium palmitate is permitted as a natural additive in organic products.[15] The aluminium salt is used as a thickening agent of napalm used in military actions.

Hydrogenation of palmitic acid yields cetyl alcohol, which is used to produce detergents and cosmetics.

Recently, a long-acting antipsychotic medication, paliperidone palmitate (marketed as INVEGA Sustenna), used in the treatment of schizophrenia, has been synthesized using the oily palmitate ester as a long-acting release carrier medium when injected intramuscularly. The underlying method of drug delivery is similar to that used with decanoic acid to deliver long-acting depot medication, in particular, neuroleptics such as haloperidol decanoate.

Health effects

According to the World Health Organization, evidence is "convincing" that consumption of palmitic acid increases risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.[16] Retinyl palmitate is an antioxidant and a source of vitamin A added to low fat milk to replace the vitamin content lost through the removal of milk fat. Palmitate is attached to the alcohol form of vitamin A, retinol, to make vitamin A stable in milk.

Rats fed a diet of 20% palmitic acid and 80% carbohydrate for extended periods showed alterations in central nervous system control of insulin secretion, and suppression of the body's natural appetite-suppressing signals from leptin and insulin (the key hormones involved in weight regulation).[17]

See also

References

  1. Merck Index, 12th Edition, 7128.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sigma
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 CID 985 from PubChem
  4. Palmitic acid at Inchem.org
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 http://chemister.ru/Database/properties-en.php?dbid=1&id=6488
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 n-Hexadecanoic acid in Linstrom, P.J.; Mallard, W.G. (eds.) NIST Chemistry WebBook, NIST Standard Reference Database Number 69. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg MD. http://webbook.nist.gov (retrieved 2014-05-11)
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Lipid Handbook with Cd-Rom. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2007. ISBN 0849396883 | ISBN 978-0849396885
  10. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. Lipids of human milk and infant formulas: a review
  14. Fatty acid biosynthesis - Reference pathway
  15. US Soil Association standard 50.5.3
  16. Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases, WHO Technical Report Series 916, Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2003, p. 88 (Table 10)
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons