lauric acid

Lauric acid is a medium-chain saturated fatty acid (C12:0) naturally abundant in coconut and palm kernel oils, investigated for its diverse therapeutic potential in oncology, infectious disease, and metabolic disorders. In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), it has been developed as a thermosensitive injectable depot for the sustained local delivery of chemotherapeutics, while also demonstrating intrinsic antitumor activity. As an antimicrobial agent, it is being evaluated in clinical trials (under the code GT08) for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection and as a supplement to reduce systemic inflammation and the viral reservoir in patients with HIV. Mechanistically, lauric acid acts as an agonist for GPR84 and Toll-like receptors (TLR2, TLR4), and serves as a metabolic precursor to dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC), which activates the nuclear receptor LRH-1 (NR5A2) to provide hepatoprotective effects in inflammatory cholangiopathies. It also modulates fibrotic progression in inflammatory bowel disease through PPARγ activation.

Other names

dodecanoic acidC12C-12C 12C12:0