Structure via PubChem · Public domain (PubChem)
phenylacetic acid
Sign in to saveAlso known as ω-phenylacetic acid, α-toluic acid, benzeneacetic acid, PAA , Phenylacetic acid, alpha-toluic acid, 2-Phenylethanoic acid, PA, Benzenacetic acid
chemical compound
Chemical data
- Formula
- C8H8O2
- Molecular weight
- 136.15 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- 2-phenylacetic acid
- SMILES
- C1=CC=C(C=C1)CC(=O)O
- InChIKey
- WLJVXDMOQOGPHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- XLogP
- 1.4
- Polar surface area
- 37.3 Ų
- H-bond donors
- 1
- H-bond acceptors
- 2
- Formal charge
- 0
via PubChem
Drug data · ChEMBL
- Molecule type
- Small molecule
via ChEMBL · EBI
Research
2,141 papers- Gut microbiota-dependent increase in phenylacetic acid induces endothelial cell senescence during aging.Nature aging · 2025
- An Historical Review of Phenylacetic Acid.Plant & cell physiology · 2019
- Gut microbial-derived phenylacetylglutamine accelerates host cellular senescence.Nature aging · 2025
- Shunting Phenylacetic Acid Catabolism for Tropone Biosynthesis.ACS synthetic biology · 2019
- Phenylacetic acid metabolism in land plants: novel pathways and metabolites.Journal of experimental botany · 2025
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Has part
- hydrogen
- Mass
- 136.052
- Has use
- medication
Show 7 more facts
- found in taxon
- Eucalyptus melliodora
- chemical formula
- C₈H₈O₂
- canonical SMILES
- C1=CC=C(C=C1)CC(=O)O
- density
- 1.228
- melting point
- 77
- Commons category
- Phenylacetic acid
- topic's main category
- Category:Phenylacetic acids
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Phenylacetic acid (conjugate base phenylacetate), also known by various synonyms, is an organic compound containing a phenyl functional group and a carboxylic acid functional group. It is a white solid with a strong honey-like odor. Endogenously, it is a catabolite of phenylalanine. As a commercial chemical, because it can be used in the illicit production of phenylacetone (used in the manufacture of substituted amphetamines), it is subject to controls in countries including the United States and China.
Occurrence
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “phenylacetic acid” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.