Traumatic acid is a monounsaturated

dicarboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a dicarboxylic acid is an organic compound containing two carboxyl groups (). The general molecular formula for dicarboxylic acids can be written as , where R can be aliphatic or aromatic. In general, dicarboxylic acids show ...

that occurs naturally in plants. The compound was first isolated from wounded bean plants by American chemists James English Jr. and James Frederick Bonner and Dutch scientist

Arie Jan Haagen-Smit Arie Jan Haagen-Smit (December 22, 1900 – March 17, 1977) was a Dutch chemist. He is best known for linking the smog in Southern California to automobiles and is therefore known by many as the "father" of air pollution control. After serving as ...

in 1939.English J Jr., Bonner J, Haagen-Smit AJ: Structure and synthesis of a plant wound hormone. '' Science'' 90:329. (1939) Traumatic acid is a potent wound healing agent in plants ("wound hormone") that stimulates cell division near a trauma site to form a protective callus and to heal the damaged tissue. It may also act as a growth hormone, especially in inferior plants (e.g.

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

). Traumatic acid is biosynthesized in plants by non-enzymatic oxidation of

traumatin Traumatin is a plant hormone produced in response to wound. Traumatin is a precursor to the related hormone traumatic acid Traumatic acid is a monounsaturated dicarboxylic acid that occurs naturally in plants. The compound was first isolated f ...

(12-oxo-''trans''-10-dodecenoic acid), another wound hormone. At normal conditions, traumatic acid is a solid, crystalline, water-insoluble substance. The salts and esters of traumatic acid are called traumatates. Traumatic acid is used as an intermediate in

prostaglandin The prostaglandins (PG) are a group of physiologically active lipid compounds called eicosanoids having diverse hormone-like effects in animals. Prostaglandins have been found in almost every tissue in humans and other animals. They are derive ...

synthesis. It is also a constituent of some pharmaceutical products, such as the odontostomatologic gel Restomyl, due to its mucosal re-epithelialization activity.

References

Plant hormones Dicarboxylic acids Enoic acids