acetoacetic acid meaning

Noun: acetoacetic acid

1. Unstable acid found in abnormal amounts in the blood and urine in some cases of impaired metabolism (as diabetes mellitus or starvation)

Derived forms: acetoacetic acids

Type of: acetone body, ketone body

Encyclopedia: Acetoacetic acid

[Medicine]
n : an unstable acid C₄H₆O₃ that is one of the ketone bodies found in abnormal amounts in the blood and urine in certain conditions of impaired metabolism (as in starvation and diabetes mellitus) —called also diacetic acid

Examples

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1. In the next step, the pyrrolium cation condenses with acetoacetic acid yielding hygrine.
2. Acetoacetic acid is a weak acid.
3. The proportions are 78 % beta-hydroxybutyric acid, 20 % acetoacetic acid and 2 % acetone.
4. This is due to the breakdown of acetoacetic acid into acetone and carbon dioxide which is exhaled through the lungs.
5. In this reaction the acetoacetic acid in an alkali medium reacts with the sodium nitroprusside producing a magenta coloured complex: