Palmitic acid

palmitic acid, hexadecanoic acid or palmitate, is a medium-chain saturated fatty acid, made up of 16 carbon atoms. It is a white solid that liquefies at about 63.1 °C. Its chemical formula is CH₃(CH₂)₁₄COOH.

Palmitic acid is the main saturated fatty acid present in the human body, as well as in its diet, constituting approximately 60% of it. It is the most abundant in meats (behind oleic acid, which is monounsaturated), dairy fats (butter, cheese and cream) and vegetable oils such as palm oil (44% of its total fat), coconut oil and olive oil (8 to 20% of its total fat).

Biosynthesis

It is the second fatty acid that is produced during lipogenesis and other fatty acids with longer chains or with double bonds (unsaturations) can be formed from it. During catabolism, the total oxidation of 50 mol of palmitic acid produces, in chemical energy, 129 mol of ATP.