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Record Information
Version5.0
StatusDetected and Quantified
Creation Date2005-11-16 15:48:42 UTC
Update Date2023-05-30 20:55:51 UTC
HMDB IDHMDB0000535
Secondary Accession Numbers
  • HMDB00535
  • HMDB0061883
  • HMDB61883
Metabolite Identification
Common NameCaproic acid
DescriptionCaproic acid, also known as hexanoic acid or C6:0, is a medium-chain fatty acid. Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) are fatty acids with aliphatic tails of 6 to 12 carbons, which can form medium-chain triglycerides. Caproic acid is a colourless oily liquid that smells like cheese with an overlying waxy or barnyard odor like that of goats or other barnyard animals. Its name comes from the Latin word capra, meaning "goat". Two other fatty acids are named after goats: caprylic acid (C8) and capric acid (C10). Along with caproic acid, they account for 15% of the fat in goat's milk. Caproic acid is a fatty acid found naturally in various animal fats and oils. While generally more abundant in animals, caproic acid is found in all organisms ranging from bacteria to plants to animals. Caproic acid is one of the chemicals that gives the decomposing fleshy seed coat of the ginkgo fruit its characteristic unpleasant odor. It is also one of the components of vanilla and cheese. Industrially, the primary use of caproic acid is in the manufacture of its esters for use as artificial flavors and in the manufacture of hexyl derivatives, such as hexylphenols. Caproic acid has been associated with medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, which is an inborn error of metabolism. As a relatively volatile organic compound, caproic acid has been identified as a fecal biomarker of Clostridium difficile infection (PMID: 30986230 ).
Structure
Thumb
Synonyms
Chemical FormulaC6H12O2
Average Molecular Weight116.1583
Monoisotopic Molecular Weight116.083729628
IUPAC Namehexanoic acid
Traditional Namehexanoic acid
CAS Registry Number142-62-1
SMILES
CCCCCC(O)=O
InChI Identifier
InChI=1S/C6H12O2/c1-2-3-4-5-6(7)8/h2-5H2,1H3,(H,7,8)
InChI KeyFUZZWVXGSFPDMH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Chemical Taxonomy
Description Belongs to the class of organic compounds known as medium-chain fatty acids. These are fatty acids with an aliphatic tail that contains between 4 and 12 carbon atoms.
KingdomOrganic compounds
Super ClassLipids and lipid-like molecules
ClassFatty Acyls
Sub ClassFatty acids and conjugates
Direct ParentMedium-chain fatty acids
Alternative Parents
Substituents
  • Medium-chain fatty acid
  • Straight chain fatty acid
  • Monocarboxylic acid or derivatives
  • Carboxylic acid
  • Carboxylic acid derivative
  • Organic oxygen compound
  • Organic oxide
  • Hydrocarbon derivative
  • Organooxygen compound
  • Carbonyl group
  • Aliphatic acyclic compound
Molecular FrameworkAliphatic acyclic compounds
External Descriptors
Ontology
Physiological effectNot Available
Disposition
ProcessNot Available
RoleNot Available
Physical Properties
StateSolid
Experimental Molecular Properties
PropertyValueReference
Melting Point-4.00 to -3.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm HgThe Good Scents Company Information System
Boiling Point202.00 to 203.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm HgThe Good Scents Company Information System
Water Solubility10.3 mg/mLNot Available
LogP1.92HANSCH,C ET AL. (1995)
Experimental Chromatographic Properties

Experimental Collision Cross Sections

Adduct TypeData SourceCCS Value (Å2)Reference
[M-H]-MetCCS_train_neg128.53830932474
[M-H]-Not Available128.538http://allccs.zhulab.cn/database/detail?ID=AllCCS00000199
Predicted Molecular Properties
Predicted Chromatographic Properties
Spectra
Biological Properties
Cellular Locations
  • Cytoplasm
  • Extracellular
  • Membrane
Biospecimen Locations
  • Blood
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)
  • Feces
  • Saliva
  • Sweat
  • Urine
Tissue Locations
  • Placenta
Pathways
Normal Concentrations
Abnormal Concentrations
Associated Disorders and Diseases
Disease References
Ulcerative colitis
  1. Garner CE, Smith S, de Lacy Costello B, White P, Spencer R, Probert CS, Ratcliffe NM: Volatile organic compounds from feces and their potential for diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease. FASEB J. 2007 Jun;21(8):1675-88. Epub 2007 Feb 21. [PubMed:17314143 ]
  2. Le Gall G, Noor SO, Ridgway K, Scovell L, Jamieson C, Johnson IT, Colquhoun IJ, Kemsley EK, Narbad A: Metabolomics of fecal extracts detects altered metabolic activity of gut microbiota in ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. J Proteome Res. 2011 Sep 2;10(9):4208-18. doi: 10.1021/pr2003598. Epub 2011 Aug 8. [PubMed:21761941 ]
  3. De Preter V, Machiels K, Joossens M, Arijs I, Matthys C, Vermeire S, Rutgeerts P, Verbeke K: Faecal metabolite profiling identifies medium-chain fatty acids as discriminating compounds in IBD. Gut. 2015 Mar;64(3):447-58. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2013-306423. Epub 2014 May 8. [PubMed:24811995 ]
  4. Ahmed I, Greenwood R, Costello B, Ratcliffe N, Probert CS: Investigation of faecal volatile organic metabolites as novel diagnostic biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Mar;43(5):596-611. doi: 10.1111/apt.13522. Epub 2016 Jan 25. [PubMed:26806034 ]
Irritable bowel syndrome
  1. Le Gall G, Noor SO, Ridgway K, Scovell L, Jamieson C, Johnson IT, Colquhoun IJ, Kemsley EK, Narbad A: Metabolomics of fecal extracts detects altered metabolic activity of gut microbiota in ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. J Proteome Res. 2011 Sep 2;10(9):4208-18. doi: 10.1021/pr2003598. Epub 2011 Aug 8. [PubMed:21761941 ]
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
  1. Raman M, Ahmed I, Gillevet PM, Probert CS, Ratcliffe NM, Smith S, Greenwood R, Sikaroodi M, Lam V, Crotty P, Bailey J, Myers RP, Rioux KP: Fecal microbiome and volatile organic compound metabolome in obese humans with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013 Jul;11(7):868-75.e1-3. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2013.02.015. Epub 2013 Feb 27. [PubMed:23454028 ]
Celiac disease
  1. Di Cagno R, De Angelis M, De Pasquale I, Ndagijimana M, Vernocchi P, Ricciuti P, Gagliardi F, Laghi L, Crecchio C, Guerzoni ME, Gobbetti M, Francavilla R: Duodenal and faecal microbiota of celiac children: molecular, phenotype and metabolome characterization. BMC Microbiol. 2011 Oct 4;11:219. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-11-219. [PubMed:21970810 ]
Autism
  1. De Angelis M, Piccolo M, Vannini L, Siragusa S, De Giacomo A, Serrazzanetti DI, Cristofori F, Guerzoni ME, Gobbetti M, Francavilla R: Fecal microbiota and metabolome of children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. PLoS One. 2013 Oct 9;8(10):e76993. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076993. eCollection 2013. [PubMed:24130822 ]
Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified
  1. De Angelis M, Piccolo M, Vannini L, Siragusa S, De Giacomo A, Serrazzanetti DI, Cristofori F, Guerzoni ME, Gobbetti M, Francavilla R: Fecal microbiota and metabolome of children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. PLoS One. 2013 Oct 9;8(10):e76993. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076993. eCollection 2013. [PubMed:24130822 ]
Crohn's disease
  1. De Preter V, Machiels K, Joossens M, Arijs I, Matthys C, Vermeire S, Rutgeerts P, Verbeke K: Faecal metabolite profiling identifies medium-chain fatty acids as discriminating compounds in IBD. Gut. 2015 Mar;64(3):447-58. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2013-306423. Epub 2014 May 8. [PubMed:24811995 ]
  2. Ahmed I, Greenwood R, Costello B, Ratcliffe N, Probert CS: Investigation of faecal volatile organic metabolites as novel diagnostic biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Mar;43(5):596-611. doi: 10.1111/apt.13522. Epub 2016 Jan 25. [PubMed:26806034 ]
Colorectal cancer
  1. Sinha R, Ahn J, Sampson JN, Shi J, Yu G, Xiong X, Hayes RB, Goedert JJ: Fecal Microbiota, Fecal Metabolome, and Colorectal Cancer Interrelations. PLoS One. 2016 Mar 25;11(3):e0152126. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152126. eCollection 2016. [PubMed:27015276 ]
  2. Goedert JJ, Sampson JN, Moore SC, Xiao Q, Xiong X, Hayes RB, Ahn J, Shi J, Sinha R: Fecal metabolomics: assay performance and association with colorectal cancer. Carcinogenesis. 2014 Sep;35(9):2089-96. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgu131. Epub 2014 Jul 18. [PubMed:25037050 ]
Clostridium difficile infection
  1. Patel M, Fowler D, Sizer J, Walton C: Faecal volatile biomarkers of Clostridium difficile infection. PLoS One. 2019 Apr 15;14(4):e0215256. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215256. eCollection 2019. [PubMed:30986230 ]
Perillyl alcohol administration for cancer treatment
  1. Silva CL, Passos M, Camara JS: Solid phase microextraction, mass spectrometry and metabolomic approaches for detection of potential urinary cancer biomarkers--a powerful strategy for breast cancer diagnosis. Talanta. 2012 Jan 30;89:360-8. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2011.12.041. Epub 2011 Dec 22. [PubMed:22284503 ]
Medium Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  1. Gregersen N, Kolvraa S, Rasmussen K, Mortensen PB, Divry P, David M, Hobolth N: General (medium-chain) acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (non-ketotic dicarboxylic aciduria): quantitative urinary excretion pattern of 23 biologically significant organic acids in three cases. Clin Chim Acta. 1983 Aug 15;132(2):181-91. [PubMed:6616873 ]
Associated OMIM IDs
DrugBank IDNot Available
Phenol Explorer Compound IDNot Available
FooDB IDFDB013897
KNApSAcK IDC00001218
Chemspider ID8552
KEGG Compound IDC01585
BioCyc IDHEXANOATE
BiGG IDNot Available
Wikipedia LinkHexanoic_acid
METLIN ID5520
PubChem Compound8892
PDB IDNot Available
ChEBI ID30776
Food Biomarker OntologyNot Available
VMH IDNot Available
MarkerDB IDMDB00000184
Good Scents IDrw1008541
References
Synthesis ReferenceGao, Fei; Wu, Zongwei. Process for preparation of hexanoic acid by oxidation of 2-octanol with nitric acid. Faming Zhuanli Shenqing Gongkai Shuomingshu (2005), 7pp.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)Not Available
General References

Enzymes

General function:
Involved in acyltransferase activity
Specific function:
Beta-oxidation of fatty acids. The highest activity concerns the C6 to C10 chain length substrate. Converts the end product of pristanic acid beta oxidation, 4,8-dimethylnonanoyl-CoA, to its corresponding carnitine ester.
Gene Name:
CROT
Uniprot ID:
Q9UKG9
Molecular weight:
10213.63
General function:
Involved in acyltransferase activity
Specific function:
Not Available
Gene Name:
CPT2
Uniprot ID:
P23786
Molecular weight:
73776.335
General function:
Involved in transporter activity
Specific function:
Mediates the transport of acylcarnitines of different length across the mitochondrial inner membrane from the cytosol to the mitochondrial matrix for their oxidation by the mitochondrial fatty acid-oxidation pathway.
Gene Name:
SLC25A20
Uniprot ID:
O43772
Molecular weight:
32943.46
General function:
Involved in catalytic activity
Specific function:
Has medium-chain fatty acid:CoA ligase activity with broad substrate specificity (in vitro). Acts on acids from C(4) to C(11) and on the corresponding 3-hydroxy- and 2,3- or 3,4-unsaturated acids (in vitro). Functions as GTP-dependent lipoate-activating enzyme that generates the substrate for lipoyltransferase (By similarity).
Gene Name:
ACSM1
Uniprot ID:
Q08AH1
Molecular weight:
65272.74
General function:
Involved in catalytic activity
Specific function:
Not Available
Gene Name:
ACSM6
Uniprot ID:
Q6P461
Molecular weight:
53584.545
General function:
Involved in catalytic activity
Specific function:
Has medium-chain fatty acid:CoA ligase activity with broad substrate specificity (in vitro). Acts on acids from C(4) to C(11) and on the corresponding 3-hydroxy- and 2,3- or 3,4-unsaturated acids (in vitro) (By similarity).
Gene Name:
ACSM2A
Uniprot ID:
Q08AH3
Molecular weight:
64223.7
General function:
Involved in catalytic activity
Specific function:
Has medium-chain fatty acid:CoA ligase activity with broad substrate specificity (in vitro). Acts on acids from C(4) to C(11) and on the corresponding 3-hydroxy- and 2,3- or 3,4-unsaturated acids (in vitro).
Gene Name:
ACSM2B
Uniprot ID:
Q68CK6
Molecular weight:
64270.78
General function:
Involved in catalytic activity
Specific function:
Has medium-chain fatty acid:CoA ligase activity with broad substrate specificity (in vitro). Acts on acids from C(4) to C(11) and on the corresponding 3-hydroxy- and 2,3- or 3,4-unsaturated acids (in vitro) (By similarity).
Gene Name:
ACSM3
Uniprot ID:
Q53FZ2
Molecular weight:
66152.235
General function:
Involved in catalytic activity
Specific function:
Has medium-chain fatty acid:CoA ligase activity with broad substrate specificity (in vitro). Acts on acids from C(4) to C(11) and on the corresponding 3-hydroxy- and 2,3- or 3,4-unsaturated acids (in vitro) (By similarity).
Gene Name:
ACSM5
Uniprot ID:
Q6NUN0
Molecular weight:
64759.55
General function:
Involved in catalytic activity
Specific function:
Has medium-chain fatty acid:CoA ligase activity with broad substrate specificity (in vitro). Acts on acids from C(4) to C(11) and on the corresponding 3-hydroxy- and 2,3- or 3,4-unsaturated acids (in vitro) (By similarity).
Gene Name:
ACSM4
Uniprot ID:
P0C7M7
Molecular weight:
65702.225