quinic acid

[ kwin-ik ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble, solid cyclic compound, C 7 H 1 2 O 6 , present in cinchona bark, coffee beans, and the leaves of many plants.

quinic acid

/ ˈkwɪnɪk /

noun

1. a white crystalline soluble optically active carboxylic acid, found in cinchona bark, bilberries, coffee beans, and the leaves of certain other plants; 1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxycyclohexanecarboxylic acid. Formula: C 6 H 7 (OH) 4 COOH

Word History and Origins

Origin of quinic acid¹

1805–15; < Spanish quin ( a ) quinine + -ic

Example Sentences

This substance was the lime salt of an acid to which Vauquelin in 1806 gave the name of quinic acid (acide quinique).

From Project Gutenberg

Hydroquinone was obtained by Caventou and Pelletier by heating quinic acid, but these chemists did not recognize its true nature.

From Project Gutenberg

To prevent the formation of uric acid Robin prescribes quinic acid combined with formine or urotropine.

From Project Gutenberg