Stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid, is also known as octadecanoic acid. Though it’s considered safe, some are convinced it has potentially dangerous health effects.
What Is Stearic acid?
Stearic Acid is used in a multitude of products that we use every day like shaving cream, cosmetics, medicines, skincare products, soaps, detergents and candles. It is also used in the manufacturing process of many more products because this renewable fatty acid is extremely versatile. Stearic Acid is also used as a mold release for hard/pressed candies.
Possible Side Effects of Stearic acid
Stearic acid is generally considered a safe ingredient, the side effects may:
- Skin Irritations: Irritations of the skin may be accompanied by severe itching and often time redness and swelling.There are also rash-like symptoms that may occur like small red spots.
- Sensitivity of the Skin: One of the milder side effects of stearic acid is making the skin sensitive to substances and direct exposure to the sun.
- Damage of the Skin: In certain occasions, hive-like spots may occur in the skin which will often turn into blisters that can damage the skin. There are also times wherein the skin will turn scaly.
GRAS Affirmation: No
Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) is an American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance requirements. Stearic acid is considered safe by FDA.
Suggested Dosage
NA.
Special Populations Precaution
There is a lot of concern about diet and nutrition for these population, like Newborns, children, pregnant, sensitive to Stearic acid populations. Better consult to your doctor if you would like to intake Stearic acid.
Related Research
1. Optimizing the preparation procedure of self-assembled monolayer of stearic acid for protection of cupronickel alloy. [Acta Chim Slov. 2014] Author: Marušić K, Hajdari Z, Ćurković HO.
2. Invited review: Palmitic and stearic acid metabolism in lactating dairy cows. [J Dairy Sci. 2014 Aug] Author: Loften JR, Linn JG, Drackley JK, Jenkins TC, Soderholm CG, Kertz AF.
3. Deletions of the SACPD-C locus elevate seed stearic acid levels but also result in fatty acid and morphological alterations in nitrogen fixing nodules. [BMC Plant Biol. 2014 May 27] Author: Gillman JD, Stacey MG, Cui Y, Berg HR, Stacey G.
4. Impact of stearic acid and oleic acid on hemostatic factors in the context of controlled diets consumed by healthy men. [Eur J Clin Nutr. 2014 Sep] Author: Gebauer SK, Tracy RP, Baer DJ.