What Is Arachidic Acid (20:0) & What Foods Can I Find It In?

Hazelnut spread on a sandwich
Hazelnut spread contains arachidic acid

Arachidic acid, 20:0 known as icosanoic acid or eicosanoic acid.

It’s a very long-chain, saturated fatty acid.

Diets rich in saturated fats like arachidic acid are associated with increased levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL).

Arachidic acid is used in the industry for the production of detergents and lubricants.

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Uses Of Arachidic acid

Arachidic acid is used in the food industry as a food additive and in the pharmaceutical industry as an intermediate for producing vitamin E and biochemicals.

Producing Vitamin E

Arachidic acid is a starting material for producing vitamin E.

The most important method for producing vitamin E is to convert arachidic acid into α-tocopherol, which is an important antioxidant.

Producing biochemicals

Arachidic acid is also used as a starting material for producing biochemicals.

For example, arachidic acid is used as a starting material for producing prostaglandin, which is a drug for preventing bone resorption, and as a starting material for producing lysophosphatidic acid, which is a surfactant.

Hydrogenation Of Arachidic Acid

Arachidic acid is obtained by hydrogenation of oils and fats, such as soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, sesame oil, and sunflower oil.

Arachidic acid, 20:0, is a saturated very long-chain fatty acid.(source )

By hydrogenation can arachidic acid be formed into arachidonic acid.

Foods You Can Find Arachidic Acid (20:0) In

You find arachidic acid mostly in nuts and seeds, sweets, fats and oils, and legume products.

Examples of food sources include

Foods in our nutrition tool

You can find regularly updated top ranked lists of foods for over 200+ nutrients in our nutrition tool.

If you are interested in what foods contain the most Arachidic Acid (20:0) we recommend you visit our tool.

Here's our top ranked list of foods that contain Arachidic Acid (20:0).

Sara Niemelä

co-founder Care Omnia, Head Content Creator

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Nutrition is my passion. I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours reading, analyzing, categorizing and comparing research studies.

I’m a wife and a mother of three. I enjoy the outdoors, cooking, and spending time with my family.