Ricinoleic acid

• Ricinoleic
• (12R )-cis -12 -9 -enoic acid Hydroxyoctadec
• ( 9Z, 12R ) -12- Hydroxyoctadec -9 -enoic acid

Yellowish viscous liquid

0.94 g · cm -3

5.5 ° C

245 ° C ( 13 hPa)

Insoluble in water, slightly soluble in ethanol, glacial acetic acid, diethyl ether and chloroform

1.4716 (21 ° C)

Attention

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Ricinoleic acid ( IUPAC: ( 9Z, 12R ) -12 -hydroxy -9- octadecenoic acid ) is an unsaturated, linear built omega -9 fatty acid, with molecular formula C18H34O3. At room temperature, the compound is an oily, yellow liquids, insoluble in water fluid. She wears the 12th C atom a hydroxy group. The double bond between the 9th and 10th carbon atom has a cis configuration.

Occurrence and extraction

Ricinoleic acid is the only commercially available in large quantities natural fatty acid, which bears a hydroxyl group. The extraction is carried out by hydrolysis of castor oil, in which the substance to occur 85 to 92 % in the form of triglycerides.

Use

The zinc salt of ricinoleic acid (English: Zinc ricinoleate ) serves as a deodorizing additive in Deostoffen and as odor binders in creams, lotions and foot care products. In Deostoffen it does not inhibit the natural transpiration, but are coated with the resulting bacterial decomposition of sweat foul smelling odors, bound, and therefore no longer perceived as unpleasant.

Ricinoleic acid is responsible for the effects of castor oil, which is given as a laxative ( laxative ) and in obstetrics as a so -called labor cocktail to induce labor. In both cases, the acid thereby acts to prostaglandin.

By hydrogenation of the double bond to give the 12-hydroxystearic acid (12 - hydroxyoctadecanoic acid ), which is widely used for the production of soap thickeners for greases.