Hydnocarpic acid is an
unsaturated fatty acid
In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, f ...
. It differs from most fatty acids by having a
cyclic ring system at the terminus, rather than being entirely straight chain. It is found in the oil from plants of the genus ''
Hydnocarpus
''Hydnocarpus'' is a genus of medium to large trees in the Family Achariaceae; the genus was previously placed in the now defunct family Flacourtiaceae. Species have been recorded from Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Charact ...
'' from which it derives its name.
References
{{reflist
Fatty acids
Cyclopentenes