Cyclopropene acid

Cyclopropene acids are a group of acids. The best known cyclopropene acids are malvalic acid and sterculic acid.

Sterculic acid is present in sterculia oils and at low levels in kapok seed oil (~12%), cottonseed oil (~1%) and in the seeds of the tree Sterculia foetida (~65-78%). These acids are highly reactive and are destroyed during refining and hydrogenation of the oils. They have attracted interest because they inhibit the biodesaturation of stearic acid to oleic acid.