Tags: Chemical Compound, Chemical Substance.
Hexanoic acid (caproic acid) is the carboxylic acid derived from hexane with the general formula C5H11COOH. It is a colorless oily liquid with an odor that is fatty cheesy waxy and like that of goats or other barnyard animals. It is a fatty acid found naturally in various animal fats and oils and is one of the chemicals that give the decomposing fleshy seed coat of the ginkgo its characteristic unpleasant odor. It is also one of the components of vanilla.
