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Record Information
Version5.0
StatusDetected and Quantified
Creation Date2005-11-16 15:48:42 UTC
Update Date2023-02-21 17:15:16 UTC
HMDB IDHMDB0000892
Secondary Accession Numbers
  • HMDB00892
Metabolite Identification
Common NameValeric acid
DescriptionValeric acid, or pentanoic acid, is a straight chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3(CH2)3COOH. Like other low molecular weight carboxylic acids, it has a very unpleasant odor. Valeric acid is commonly found in human feces, with an average concentration of 2.4 umol/g feces (range of 0.6-3.8 umol/g) (PMID:6740214 ). Valeric acid is produced by the gut microbiota, typically Clostridia species and other gut bacterial species such as Megasphaera massiliensis MRx0029 (PMID:30052654 ) via the condensation of ethanol with propionic acid (PMID:18116989 ). Valeric acid is largely considered as a gut microbial metabolite. Recently, valeric acid has been found to exert strong gut protective effects. Studies involving mice that received high doses of radiation showed that valeric acid replenishment (via oral gavage) elevated the survival rate of irradiated mice, protected hematogenic organs (such as the thymus and spleen), improved gastrointestinal (GI) tract function and enhanced intestinal epithelial integrity (PMID:31931652 ). Valeric acid was also found to restore the enteric bacteria taxonomic proportions and reprogram the small intestinal protein profile to normal levels. Valeric acid, like butyric acid, also appears to be a potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. High levels of HDAC proteins have been implicated in a variety of disease pathologies, from cancer and colitis to cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration (PMID:30052654 ). Valeric acid is also found in certain plants, specifically in the perennial flowering plant valerian (Valeriana officinalis), from which it gets its name. Industrially valeric acid is primarily used is in the synthesis of its esters. Volatile esters of valeric acid tend to have pleasant odors and are used in perfumes and cosmetics. Ethyl valerate and pentyl valerate are used as food additives because of their fruity flavours. Hydrolysis of these valerate-containing food additives in the gut can also lead to the appearance of valerate in blood, urine and stool samples.
Structure
Thumb
Synonyms
Chemical FormulaC5H10O2
Average Molecular Weight102.1317
Monoisotopic Molecular Weight102.068079564
IUPAC Namepentanoic acid
Traditional NameN-valeric acid
CAS Registry Number109-52-4
SMILES
CCCCC(O)=O
InChI Identifier
InChI=1S/C5H10O2/c1-2-3-4-5(6)7/h2-4H2,1H3,(H,6,7)
InChI KeyNQPDZGIKBAWPEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Chemical Taxonomy
Description Belongs to the class of organic compounds known as straight chain fatty acids. These are fatty acids with a straight aliphatic chain.
KingdomOrganic compounds
Super ClassLipids and lipid-like molecules
ClassFatty Acyls
Sub ClassFatty acids and conjugates
Direct ParentStraight chain fatty acids
Alternative Parents
Substituents
  • 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 effect
Disposition
Biological locationRoute of exposureSource
Process
Role
Physical Properties
StateLiquid
Experimental Molecular Properties
PropertyValueReference
Melting Point-34 °CNot Available
Boiling PointNot AvailableNot Available
Water Solubility24 mg/mLNot Available
LogP1.39HANSCH,C ET AL. (1995)
Experimental Chromatographic PropertiesNot Available
Predicted Molecular Properties
Predicted Chromatographic Properties
Spectra
Biological Properties
Cellular Locations
  • Extracellular
  • Membrane
Biospecimen Locations
  • Blood
  • Breath
  • Feces
  • Saliva
  • Urine
Tissue Locations
  • Bladder
  • Epidermis
  • Neuron
Pathways
Normal Concentrations
Abnormal Concentrations
Associated Disorders and Diseases
Disease References
Asthma
  1. van de Kant KD, van Berkel JJ, Jobsis Q, Lima Passos V, Klaassen EM, van der Sande L, van Schayck OC, de Jongste JC, van Schooten FJ, Derks E, Dompeling E, Dallinga JW: Exhaled breath profiling in diagnosing wheezy preschool children. Eur Respir J. 2013 Jan;41(1):183-8. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00122411. [PubMed:23277518 ]
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 ]
Ulcerative colitis
  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 ]
  2. 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 ]
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 ]
Diarrhoea predominant irritable bowel syndrome
  1. Ahmed I, Greenwood R, Costello Bde L, Ratcliffe NM, Probert CS: An investigation of fecal volatile organic metabolites in irritable bowel syndrome. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58204. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058204. Epub 2013 Mar 13. [PubMed:23516449 ]
Colorectal cancer
  1. Weir TL, Manter DK, Sheflin AM, Barnett BA, Heuberger AL, Ryan EP: Stool microbiome and metabolome differences between colorectal cancer patients and healthy adults. PLoS One. 2013 Aug 6;8(8):e70803. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070803. Print 2013. [PubMed:23940645 ]
  2. 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 ]
  3. Brown DG, Rao S, Weir TL, O'Malia J, Bazan M, Brown RJ, Ryan EP: Metabolomics and metabolic pathway networks from human colorectal cancers, adjacent mucosa, and stool. Cancer Metab. 2016 Jun 6;4:11. doi: 10.1186/s40170-016-0151-y. eCollection 2016. [PubMed:27275383 ]
  4. 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 ]
  5. Wang X, Wang J, Rao B, Deng L: Gut flora profiling and fecal metabolite composition of colorectal cancer patients and healthy individuals. Exp Ther Med. 2017 Jun;13(6):2848-2854. doi: 10.3892/etm.2017.4367. Epub 2017 Apr 20. [PubMed:28587349 ]
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 ]
Diverticular disease
  1. Tursi A, Mastromarino P, Capobianco D, Elisei W, Miccheli A, Capuani G, Tomassini A, Campagna G, Picchio M, Giorgetti G, Fabiocchi F, Brandimarte G: Assessment of Fecal Microbiota and Fecal Metabolome in Symptomatic Uncomplicated Diverticular Disease of the Colon. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2016 Oct;50 Suppl 1:S9-S12. doi: 10.1097/MCG.0000000000000626. [PubMed:27622378 ]
Metastatic melanoma
  1. Frankel AE, Coughlin LA, Kim J, Froehlich TW, Xie Y, Frenkel EP, Koh AY: Metagenomic Shotgun Sequencing and Unbiased Metabolomic Profiling Identify Specific Human Gut Microbiota and Metabolites Associated with Immune Checkpoint Therapy Efficacy in Melanoma Patients. Neoplasia. 2017 Oct;19(10):848-855. doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2017.08.004. Epub 2017 Sep 15. [PubMed:28923537 ]
Eosinophilic esophagitis
  1. Slae, M., Huynh, H., Wishart, D.S. (2014). Analysis of 30 normal pediatric urine samples via NMR spectroscopy (unpublished work). NA.
Associated OMIM IDs
DrugBank IDDB02406
Phenol Explorer Compound IDNot Available
FooDB IDFDB003230
KNApSAcK IDC00001208
Chemspider ID7701
KEGG Compound IDC00803
BioCyc IDNot Available
BiGG IDNot Available
Wikipedia LinkValeric acid
METLIN ID110
PubChem Compound7991
PDB IDNot Available
ChEBI ID17418
Food Biomarker OntologyNot Available
VMH IDM03134
MarkerDB IDMDB00000275
Good Scents IDNot Available
References
Synthesis ReferenceRuiz, Maria Olga; Cabezas, Jose Luis; Escudero, Isabel; Coca, Jose. Valeric acid extraction with tri-n-butyl phosphate impregnated in a macroporous resin: II. Studies in fixed bed columns. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (2006), 81(3), 275-281.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)Not Available
General References

Enzymes

General function:
Involved in transferase activity, transferring hexosyl groups
Specific function:
UDPGT is of major importance in the conjugation and subsequent elimination of potentially toxic xenobiotics and endogenous compounds. This isoform glucuronidates bilirubin IX-alpha to form both the IX-alpha-C8 and IX-alpha-C12 monoconjugates and diconjugate. Is also able to catalyze the glucuronidation of 17beta-estradiol, 17alpha-ethinylestradiol, 1-hydroxypyrene, 4-methylumbelliferone, 1-naphthol, paranitrophenol, scopoletin, and umbelliferone.
Gene Name:
UGT1A1
Uniprot ID:
P22309
Molecular weight:
59590.91
Reactions
Valeric acid → 3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(pentanoyloxy)oxane-2-carboxylic aciddetails
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