Mandelic Acid
(redirected from Phenylglycollic acid)Also found in: Medical.
mandelic acid
[man′del·ik ′as·əd] (organic chemistry)
C6H5CHOHCOOH A white, crystalline compound, melting at 117-119°C, darkening upon exposure to light; used in organic synthesis.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Mandelic Acid
amygdalic acid, phenylglycolic acid; the simplest aliphatic-aromatic hydroxy acid.
Mandelic acid exists in two optically active forms, ( + ) and ( − ), as well as in the racemic (paramandelic) ( ± ) form. The first two types melt at 133.3°C; the racemic form
melts at 120.5°C. Natural ( − )-mandelic acid occurs in the bitter almond as the glycoside amygdalin, from which it can be extracted by hydrolysis; ( + )-mandelic acid is present (in a bound form) in the fruits and flowers of the common elder; and (±)-mandelic acid is obtained from benzaldehyde:
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.