ricinoleic acid

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a colorless to yellow, viscous, liquid, water-insoluble, unsaturated hydroxyl acid, C 1 8 H 3 4 O 3 , occurring in castor oil in the form of the glyceride: used chiefly in soaps and textile finishing.

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ricinoleic acid British  

/ -ˈnəʊlɪɪk, ˌrɪsɪnəʊˈliːɪk /

noun

1. an oily unsaturated carboxylic acid found, as the glyceride, in castor oil and used in the manufacture of soap and in finishing textiles; 12-hydroxy-9-octadecanoic acid. Formula: C 18 H 34 O 3

2. the mixture of fatty acids obtained by hydrolysing castor oil

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Etymology

Origin of ricinoleic acid

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Similarly, the researchers showed that ricinoleic acid binds to EP­ in the uterus and causes contractions.

From Science Magazine

It contains palmitic and several other fatty acids, among which there is one—ricinoleic acid—peculiar to itself.

From Project Gutenberg

The knowledge that ricinoleic acid binds to EP3 could be used to design drugs that target the receptor, says Bennett.

From Science Magazine

But ricinoleic acid is much more specific than those theories suggest, acting through just one receptor.

From Science Magazine

Offermanns and his colleagues were screening different fatty acids for their ability to bind to certain cellular receptors when they got a hit with ricinoleic acid.

From Science Magazine