A compound present in oil of nutmeg and other natural fats.
A straight-chain fatty acid; chemical formula: CH₃(CH₂)₁₂COOH
‘Longer chain fatty acids such as palmitic, stearic, and myristic acid are greasy.’
‘The yeast AMPK b subunits are lipid modified with myristic acid.’
‘Moderate quantities of myristic acid, cis-eicosenoic acid, and behenic acid were also identified, and together these fatty acids made up 10 to 14% of the fatty acids analyzed.’
‘Because jojoba oil contains anti-inflammatory myristic acid, it has the potential to give relief.’
‘The flies were immobilized on their backs to the lid of a petri plate using myristic acid.’
Origin
Mid 19th century myristic from modern Latin Myristica (genus name), from medieval Latin (nux) myristica ‘nutmeg’, from Greek murizein ‘anoint’.
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