Palmitate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A salt or ester derived from a long-chain saturated fatty acid commonly found in fats and oils; a chemical compound used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals; a fatty acid ester frequently involved in metabolic processes
2. A compound formed by the combination of a saturated fatty acid with an alcohol or metal, often found in natural fats; a substance utilized in medical and cosmetic products for its emollient properties; a biochemical molecule participating in energy storage and cell functions
3. An organic chemical derivative of a saturated fatty acid used as a component in various industrial and health-related formulations; a molecule commonly present in biological lipids including those in plants and animals; a biochemical agent involved in cellular lipid metabolism and signaling

Etymology: Palmitate takes its name from palm oil, the fat pressed from the fruit of oil palms, which is one of its richest natural sources. The acid at its core, palmitic acid, is the saturated fatty acid first identified in that oil, and "palmitic" was formed from it in the usual chemical way. The ending "-ate" is the standard suffix chemists use for the salts and esters of an acid, so the name simply means the salt or ester of palmitic acid. The Latin "-atus" that lies behind "-ate" passed into English through chemistry's naming conventions, which is why the same ending turns up in words like sulfate and nitrate. Palmitate is therefore a modern technical coinage built from a plant-based source name and a suffix, rather than a word with an ancient history.

Synonyms: palmitic acid salt, hexadecanoate