Caprylic acid

CAS 124-07-2

Caprylic acid is a flavouring and antimicrobial, a medium-chain fatty acid found naturally in coconut oil, palm kernel oil and milk fat.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Caprylic acid by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1025retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

What it is made from

Obtained by splitting coconut or palm kernel oil, or by synthesis. It also occurs naturally in milk.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
124-07-2
InChIKey
WWZKQHOCKIZLMA-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 379

Every name it appears under

64 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

CAS registry number

  • 124-07-2

As it appears in regulation

  • Caprylic acid

Other names

  • 0ctanoic acid
  • 1-heptanecarboxylic acid
  • 1-octanoic acid
  • Acid C8
  • Acid C8; Caprylic acid
  • Acide octanoique
  • Acido octanoico
  • Acidum octanocium
  • acidum octanoicum
  • BRN 1747180
  • C-8 acid
  • Caprylic acid-8-13C
  • caprylic acid
  • Caprylic acid (natural)
  • Caprylic acid (NF)
  • Caprylic acid CRS
  • caprylic-acid
  • Caprylsaeure
  • CAS-124-07-2
  • CCRIS 4689
  • CH3-[CH2]6-COOH
  • Copper as octanoate
  • EDENOR C 8-98-100
  • Emery 657
  • Enantic acid
  • F8:0
  • fatty acid 8:0
  • fatty acid 8:0 (caprylic acid)
  • FEMA No. 2799
  • Heptane-1-carboxylic acid
  • Hexacid 898
  • HSDB 821
  • hydron;octanoate
  • Kaprylsaeure
  • Kortacid 0899
  • Kyselina kaprylova
  • Lunac 8-95
  • Lunac 8-98
  • n-caprylic acid
  • n-heptanecarboxylic acid
  • n-octanoic acid
  • n-octanoicacid
  • n-octic acid
  • n-Octoic acid
  • n-octylic acid
  • OBL58JN025
  • octanic acid
  • Octanoic acid-7-13C
  • octanoic acid
  • OCTANOIC ACID (CAPRYLIC ACID)
  • Octanoic acid (Standard)
  • Octanoic acid (USAN)
  • Octanoic acid, 99%
  • Octanoic acid, >=98%
  • Octanoic acid, >=99%
  • Octansaeure
  • Octic acid
  • octoic acid
  • Octylic acid
  • Octylic acid; C8:0
  • Prifac 2901

Systematic names

  • octanoic acid

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/caprylic-acid.json