Lauric acid is a saturated fatty acid that occurs naturally in many plants and animal fats, in breast milk, but is found in abundance in coconut with about 50% (1) and in palm oil seeds.

Used in the cosmetic and medical fields.

Lauric acid studies

Molecular Formula: C₁₂H₂₄O₂

• Hydrofol acid 1255
• Kortacid1299
• Philacid 1200
• Wecoline1295
• Laurosteaic acid
• C12

References________________________________________

(1) Effects of feeding lauric acid or coconut oil on ruminal protozoa numbers, fermentation pattern, digestion, omasal nutrient flow, and milk production in dairy cows.  Faciola AP, Broderick GA. J Dairy Sci. 2014;97(8):5088-100. doi: 10.3168/jds.2013-7653. Epub 2014 Jun 13.

Topical therapy is the first choice for the treatment of mild to moderate acne and retinoic acid is one of the most widely used drugs. The combination of retinoids and antimicrobials is an innovative approach to acne therapy. Recently, lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid, has demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity against Propionibacterium acnes (1).

As for antimicrobial activity, lauric acid, which is found to a significant extent in coconut oil, performs a function of containing antibiotic-resistant proliferation (2) (3).

The garlic bulb (Allium sativum L.) has numerous medicinal applications and has shown anti-mycobacterial activity. In particular it has proved effective in contrasting Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra by means of its components: lauric acid and myristic acid (4).

References_____________________________________________

(1) Silva EL, Carneiro G, De Araújo LA, Trindade Mde J, Yoshida MI, Oréfice RL, Farias Lde M, De Carvalho MA, Dos Santos SG, Goulart GA, Alves RJ, Ferreira LA.
Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Loaded with Retinoic Acid and Lauric Acid as an Alternative for Topical Treatment of Acne Vulgaris.
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2015 Jan;15(1):792-9.

Anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of capric acid against Propionibacterium acnes: a comparative study with lauric acid.  Huang WC, Tsai TH, Chuang LT, Li YY, Zouboulis CC, Tsai P.  J Dermatol Sci. 2014 Mar;73(3):232-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2013.10.010.

(2) Antimicrobial effects of virgin coconut oil and its medium-chain fatty acids on Clostridium difficile. Shilling M, Matt L, Rubin E, Visitacion MP, Haller NA, Grey SF, Woolverton CJ. J Med Food. 2013 Dec;16(12):1079-85. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2012.0303.

(3) Lauric Acid Stimulates Ketone Body Production in the KT-5 Astrocyte Cell Line. Nonaka Y, Takagi T, Inai M, Nishimura S, Urashima S, Honda K, Aoyama T, Terada S. J Oleo Sci. 2016 Aug 1;65(8):693-9. doi: 10.5650/jos.ess16069. Epub 2016 Jul 15.

(4) Lauric acid and myristic acid from Allium sativum inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra: in silico analysis reveals possible binding to protein kinase B. Muniyan R, Gurunathan J. Pharm Biol. 2016 Dec;54(12):2814-2821. Epub 2016 Jun 16.