Compounds · Other compounds · Microbial origin
Butyric acid
Also known as Butanoic acid · Acid butyric — an analysis may use any of these names
Rancid butter, cheese, divisive. At very low concentration it gives a pleasant sense of richness — dose decides everything.
- CAS
- 107-92-6
- Formula
- C4H8O2
- Molar mass
- 88.11
- Odour threshold
- —
- Boiling point
- ≈ 164 °C at atmospheric pressure
Volatility
150 °C290 °C
Where it comes from
Biosynthetic pathway: Microbial origin — made by bacteria and yeasts, not by plants.
Why it sits where it does
A four-carbon fatty acid with a strongly polar carboxyl group, forming double hydrogen bonds, so it boils much higher than its size would suggest.
Where else you meet it
Rancid butter, aged cheese, fish sauce, and human sweat.