MOLECULE

Dodecanoic acid

Dodecanoic acid also known as Lauric acid, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as medium-chain fatty acids. These are fatty acids with an aliphatic tail that contains between 4 and 12 carbon atoms. Lauric acid is a weakly acidic compound. It is a white, powdery solid with a faint odour of mild fatty coconut bay oil or soap. Dodecanoic acid is the main fatty acid in coconut oil (49%) and in palm kernel oil (47-50%), and is found in lesser amounts in wild nutmeg, human breast milk, cow’s milk, goat milk, watermelon seeds, plum and macadamia nut ( doi:10.1351/pac200173040685). Dodecanoic acid is one of the saturated fatty acids found in the oil of cannabis seeds (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-947-9_2). Dodecanoic acid, although slightly irritating to mucous membranes, has an extremely low toxicity, is inexpensive, has antimicrobial properties and so is used in many soaps and shampoos. It is reacted with sodium hydroxide to generate sodium laurate, which is soap. Dodecanoic acid has been characterized as having "a more favorable effect on total HDL cholesterol than any other fatty acid either saturated or unsaturated" (PMID: 12716665).