Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/alkanoic-acids

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Enanthic acid

| NFPA-H = 3 | NFPA-F = 2 | NFPA-R = 0

Enanthic acid, also called heptanoic acid, is an organic compound composed of a seven-carbon chain terminating in a carboxylic acid functional group. It is a colorless oily liquid with an unpleasant, rancid odor. It contributes to the odor of some rancid oils. It is slightly soluble in water, but very soluble in ethanol and ether. Salts and esters of enanthic acid are called enanthates or heptanoates.

Its name derives from the Latin oenanthe which is in turn derived from the Ancient Greek oinos "wine" and anthos "blossom."

Production

The methyl ester of ricinoleic acid, obtained from castor bean oil, is the main commercial precursor to enanthic acid. It is pyrolyzed to the methyl ester of 10-undecenoic acid and heptanal, which is then air-oxidized to the carboxylic acid. Approximately 20,000 tons were consumed in Europe and US in 1980.

Laboratory preparations of enanthic acid include permanganate oxidation of heptanal and 1-octene.

Uses

Enanthic acid is used in the preparation of esters, such as ethyl enanthate, which are used as artificial flavors. Enanthic acid is used to esterify anabolic steroids in the preparation of drugs such as testosterone enanthate, trenbolone enanthate, drostanolone enanthate, and methenolone enanthate.

The triglyceride of enanthic acid is known as triheptanoin, which is a medical food.

Safety

Enanthic acid is corrosive.

References

References

  1. ''[[Merck Index]]'', 11th Edition, '''4581'''
  2. "Heptanoic Acid - Pubchem".
  3. "Heptanoic acid".
  4. David J. Anneken, Sabine Both, Ralf Christoph, Georg Fieg, Udo Steinberner, Alfred Westfechtel "Fatty Acids" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2006, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. {{doi. 10.1002/14356007.a10_245.pub2
  5. John R. Ruhoff. (1936). "N-Heptanoic Acid". Organic Syntheses.
  6. Donald G. Lee, Shannon E. Lamb, Victor S. Chang. (1981). "Carboxylic Acids from the Oxidation of Terminal Alkenes by Permanganate: Nonadecanoic Acid". Organic Syntheses.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

alkanoic-acids fatty-acids
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Enanthic acid — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report