This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Caprylic acid is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Caprylic acid | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| IUPAC name | octanoic acid |
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | [124-07-2] |
| PubChem | |
| SMILES |
|
| ChemSpider ID | |
| Properties | |
| Molecular formula | C8H16O2 |
| Molar mass | 144.21144 |
| Density | 0.910 g/cm3 |
| Melting point |
16-17 °C |
| Boiling point |
237 °C |
| Acidity (pKa) | 4.89[1] |
| Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox references |
|
Caprylic acid is the common name for the eight-carbon saturated fatty acid known by the systematic name octanoic acid. It is found naturally in coconuts and breast milk. It is an oily liquid that is minimally soluble in water with a slightly unpleasant rancid-like smell.
Uses
Caprylic acid is used commercially in the production of esters used in perfumery and also in the manufacture of dyes.
Caprylic acid is known to have anti-fungal properties, and is often recommended by nutritionists for the treatment of candidiasis. Caprylic acid is excellent for dealing with candida in the intestines, which are frequently colonized by candida.
Caprylic acid is also used in the treatment of some bacterial infections. Due to its relatively short chain length it has no difficulty in penetrating fatty cell wall membranes, hence its effectiveness in combating certain lipid-coated bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and various species of Streptococcus. [2]
Caprylic acid, aka, octanoic acid, must be covalently linked to the serine residue at the 3-position of ghrelin, specifically, it must acylate the -OH group, for ghrelin to have its hunger-stimulating action on the feeding centers of the hypothalamus, though other fatty acids may have similar effects.
References
- ^ Lide, D. R. (Ed.) (1990). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (70th Edn.). Boca Raton (FL):CRC Press.
- ^ Nair MK, Joy J, Vasudevan P, Hinckley L, Hoagland TA, Venkitanarayanan KS. Antibacterial effect of caprylic acid and monocaprylin on major bacterial mastitis pathogens. J Dairy Sci. 2005 Oct;88(10):3488-95.
|
||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 2 September 2008, at 04:15.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Caprylic acid".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.