MOLECULE

Nicotinic acid

Nicotinic acid, also known as niacin or 3-carboxypyridine, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as pyridinecarboxylic acids. Pyridinecarboxylic acids are compounds containing a pyridine ring bearing a carboxylic acid group. A pyridinemonocarboxylic acid that is pyridine in which the hydrogen at position 3 is replaced by a carboxy group. Nicotinic acid is a strong basic compound (based on its pKa). Nicotinic acid exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to humans. nicotinic acid and ribose 1-phosphate can be biosynthesized from nicotinate D-ribonucleoside through its interaction with the enzyme purine nucleoside phosphorylase. In humans, nicotinic acid is involved in nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. Outside of the human body, Nicotinic acid is found, on average, in the highest concentration within a few different foods, such as beers, leavening agents, and yellowfin tuna and in a lower concentration in greater sturgeons, groundcherries, and muskmelons. Nicotinic acid has also been detected, but not quantified in, several different foods, such as chinese bayberries, pineappple sages, green vegetables, brassicas, and cupuaçus. This could make nicotinic acid a potential biomarker for the consumption of these foods. Nicotinic acid is a potentially toxic compound. Nicotinic acid is expected to be in Cannabis as all living plants are known to produce and metabolize it.