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Names | |
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IUPAC name Abieta-7,13-dien-18-oic acid | |
Systematic IUPAC name (1R,4aR,4bR,10aR)-1,4a-Dimethyl-7-(propan-2-yl)-1,2,3,4,4a,4b,5,6,10,10a-decahydrophenanthrene-1-carboxylic acid | |
Other names Abietinic acid; Sylvic acid | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ChEBI | |
ChEMBL | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.007.436 |
EC Number |
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KEGG | |
PubChem CID | |
RTECS number |
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
C20H30O2 | |
Molar mass | 302.458 g·mol−1 |
Appearance | Colorless solid |
Density | 1.06 g/mL |
Melting point | 172–175 °C (342–347 °F; 445–448 K) [1] |
Insoluble [1] | |
Solubility in other solvents | Very soluble in acetone, petroleum ether, Et2O, and ethanol |
Hazards | |
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |
Main hazards | Irritant |
GHS labelling: | |
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Warning | |
H317 | |
P261, P272, P280, P302+P352, P321, P333+P313, P363, P501 | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
Safety data sheet (SDS) | MSDS |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Abietic acid (also known as abietinic acid or sylvic acid) is a diterpenoid found in coniferous trees. It is supposed to exist as a defend the host plant from insect attack or various wounds. Chemically, it is a complicated molecule featuring two alkene groups and a carboxylic acid within a chiral tricyclic framework. As the major component of rosin, it is commercially important. Historically speaking, it was a major component of naval stores. It is the most common of the resin acids. Another common resin acid is pimaric acid, which converts to abietic acid upon heating.
Abietic acid is found in rosin obtained from pine trees. [2] Pure abietic acid is a colorless solid, but commercial samples are usually a glassy or partly crystalline yellowish solid that melts at temperatures as low as 85 °C (185 °F). [3] Abietic acid is soluble in alcohols, acetone, and ethers. Its esters and salts are called an abietates, e.g. ethyl abietate and sodium abietate. [4]
The ancient presence of abietic acid (and other resin acids), being abundant and resilient, can inferred by analysis of rocks and archeological samples. Through the process of diagenesis, abietic acid changes into a collection of simpler compounds called abietanes.
Abietic acid is derived from the diterpene abietadiene, which in turn is made from copalyl pyrophosphate (CPP), which is derived from geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate ( GGPP), the precursor to many diterpenoids. In air and in the presence of certain cytochrome P450 enzymes, abietadiene is oxidized to abietic acid. An entire family of so-called resin acids form similarly. Together with abietic acid, these resin acids are a major portion of rosin, the solid portion of the oleoresin of coniferous trees.
The conformation of the GGPP molecule dictates the stereochemistry of the CPP intermediate after cyclization. The stereochemistry of the typical abietane skeleton suggests a GGPP precursor with its fused cyclohexyl rings in a chair-chair ("normal") conformation, although some abietanes with alternative stereochemistry may be cyclized from CCP isomers containing alternative combinations of boat and chair cyclohexane conformers. After the initial cyclization to CPP, which forms rings A and B in the abietane skeleton, the C ring is formed with the help of a class I diterpene synthase enzyme. Subsequent methyl migration and dehydrogenation steps yield the abietene isomers. [5]
Abietic acid is extracted from tree rosin. Laboratory procedures illustrate the nature of the extraction, which is the basis of a substantial industry, formerly known as naval stores. [6]
As a component of rosin and one of the principal resin acid]]s, abietic acid has many uses, e.g. in some paints, soaps, foods, soldering flux,