Sodium Palmitate

Chemical Properties

white powder

Chemical Properties

Sodium palmitate, white solid, soluble, froth or foam upon shaking the H2O solution (soap), formed by reaction of NaOH and palmitic acid (in alcoholic solution) and evaporating. Used as a source of palmitate.

Uses

Polymerization catalyst for synthetic rubbers, laundry and toilet soaps, detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, printing inks, and as an emulsi- fier.

Uses

Sodium palmitate (PA) has been used:

• to induce inflammation and thrombosis pathway in murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 cell line by activating reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, Janus-kinase (JNK) signalling and release of histone H3 by western blotting and cell viability by MTT assay
• to induce lipogenesis in AML12 cells and primary hepatocytes to analyse the effect of irisin on PA induced lipogenesis and related signal pathways by western blot analysis and quantitative PCR analysis
• as a component in free fatty acid mixture to induce cellular steatosis in HepG2 cell lines and determination of lipid accumulation by Oil-Red-O staining

Uses

Sodium Palmitate is the sodium salt of palmitic acid. It functions as a binder, emulsifier, and anticaking agent.

Hazard

A poison. Combustible.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Sodium palmitate is the sodium salt of palmitic acid, a component in hard soaps. Palmitic acid is a common saturated fatty acid and produced during fatty acid synthesis. Sodium palmitate enhances lipogenesis, cellular steatosis in various cell lines. Palmitate induces cell death in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu-positive cells and breast cancer cell lines like MCF-7 due to enhanced fatty acid accumulation. Sodium palmitate induces lipoapoptosis in L02 and HepG2 liver cells by inducing glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) expression.

Safety Profile

A poison by intravenous route. Mutation data reported. When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes.

Purification Methods

It crystallises from EtOH and is dried in an oven. [Beilstein 2 IV 1157.]