What is stearic acid?
Stearic acid is the common name for octadecanoic acid, which is a saturated fatty acid with the chemical formula of C18H36O2. A fatty acid is an organic compound made up of a long, unbranched carbon backbone that ends with a carboxyl group, or –COOH. A carboxyl group is made up of one carbon atom bonded to an oxygen atom by a double bond, and a hydroxide group made up of an oxygen and hydrogen atom bonded together. The oxygen and hydrogen atoms are bonded to the end carbon atom in such a way that they give it a charge, allowing it to form hydrogen bonds with other molecules. A hydrogen bond is a chemical bond that forms between a hydrogen atom of one molecule and a negatively-charged atom in another molecule. Examples of atoms that carry negative charges are oxygen and nitrogen. Stearic acid molecules bond when hydrogen bonds form between the double-bonded oxygen of one molecule and the hydrogen of the hydroxide group of the other molecule. To understand the structure of stearic acid,
Stearic acid is a saturated fat that’s mainly in animal products. It’s also in some plant foods like chocolate. It’s very stable in storage and during frying. A relatively large percentage of stearic acid consumed is converted to oleic acid (a monounsaturated fat). Stearic acid is used to form margarines, shortenings, spreads, and as a cream base for baked products. Even though stearic acid is a saturated fat, studies have suggested that it has little effect on blood cholesterol levels, because such a high proportion is converted to oleic acid.
