Nerolic acid, also known as (''Z'')-3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadienoic acid, is an organically-derived chemical.
In nature
Nerolic acid is found in the
Nasonov scent gland of
honey-bee
A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current co ...
s along with
geraniol
Geraniol is a monoterpenoid and an alcohol. It is the primary component of citronella oil and is a primary component of rose oil, palmarosa oil. It is a colorless oil, although commercial samples can appear yellow. It has low solubility in w ...
,
geranic acid
Geranic acid, or 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienoic acid, is a pheromone
A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormo ...
,
citral
Citral is an acyclic monoterpene aldehyde, and being a monoterpene, it is made of two isoprene units. Citral is a collective term which covers two geometric isomers that have their own separate names; the ''E''-isomer is named geranial (''trans' ...
,
farnesol, and
nerol
Nerol is a monoterpenoid alcohol found in many essential oils such as lemongrass and hops. It was originally isolated from neroli oil, hence its name. This colourless liquid is used in perfumery. Like geraniol, nerol has a sweet rose odor but it ...
. Of these, nerolic acid, geraniol, and farnesol are present in the highest proportions.
.
It is one of the five compounds that are part of the essential oils of ''Myrcia Ovata''.
It is a compound also found in great quantity in ''Myrcia lundiana'' and it possess antifungal properties against pathogens such as ''
Fusarium solani
''Fusarium solani'' is a species complex of at least 26 closely related filamentous fungi in the division Ascomycota, family Nectriaceae. It is the anamorph of '' Nectria haematococca''. It is a common soil fungus and colonist of plant mater ...
,'' and
''Lasiodiplodia theobromae''.
Both ''Myrcia Ovata'' and ''Myrcia lundiana'' are part of the
Myrtaceae family plant, both containing a certain percentage of Nerolic acid compound.
In addition to this, Nerolic acid is also a principal chemical compound of essential oils of
lemongrass
''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family.
Some ...
, and is also believed to possess antifungal properties.
References
Monoterpenes
Carboxylic acids
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