Hydroxybutyric acid is a group of four-carbon
organic compound
Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...
s that have both
hydroxyl
In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...
and
carboxylic acid
In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an Substituent, R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as or , sometimes as with R referring to an organyl ...
functional group
In organic chemistry, a functional group is any substituent or moiety (chemistry), moiety in a molecule that causes the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reactions r ...
s.
They can be viewed as derivatives of
butyric acid
Butyric acid (; from , meaning "butter"), also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula . It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. Isobutyric acid (2-met ...
. The
carboxylate anion and the
ester
In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...
s of hydroxybutyric acids are known as hydroxybutyrates. β-hydroxybutyric acid is relevant to human health as it is a member of a class of products of
fatty acid oxidation
In biochemistry and metabolism, beta oxidation (also β-oxidation) is the catabolic process by which fatty acid molecules are broken down in the cytosol in prokaryotes and in the mitochondria in eukaryotes to generate acetyl-CoA. Acetyl-CoA enters ...
referred to as
ketone bodies
Ketone bodies are water-soluble molecules or compounds that contain the ketone groups produced from fatty acids by the liver ( ketogenesis). Ketone bodies are readily transported into tissues outside the liver, where they are converted into acet ...
.
The
isomer
In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula – that is, the same number of atoms of each element (chemistry), element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. ''Isomerism'' refers to the exi ...
s are distinguished by the distance between the two functional groups and the branching.
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''alpha''-Hydroxybutyric acid (2-hydroxybutyric acid)
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''beta''-Hydroxybutyric acid (3-hydroxybutyric acid)
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''gamma''-Hydroxybutyric acid (4-hydroxybutyric acid, GHB)
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2-hydroxyisobutyric acid
2-Hydroxyisobutyric acid is the organic compound with the formula . A white solid, it is classified as an hydroxycarboxylic acid. It has been considered as a naturally occurring precursor to polyesters. It is closely related to lactic acid ().
...
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3-hydroxyisobutyric acid
3-Hydroxyisobutyric acid (or 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropanoic acid) is an intermediate in the metabolism of valine. It is a chiral compound having two enantiomers
In chemistry, an enantiomer (Help:IPA/English, /ɪˈnænti.əmər, ɛ-, -oʊ-/ Help:P ...
See also
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''beta''-Hydroxy ''beta''-methylbutyric acid
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Sodium oxybate
Sodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope ...
References
External links
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{{chemistry index
Hydroxy acids