e·ru·cic acid  ( ĭ-r s ĭk)
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n. A monounsaturated fatty acid, C22H42O2, making up 40 to 50 percent of the total fatty acid in rapeseed, wallflower seed, and mustard seed, used in manufacturing cosmetics and photographic emulsions and films and as a lubricant.
[From New Latin Ērūca, arugula genus (from the fact that erucic acid is generally abundant in oil from the seeds of members of the mustard family such as arugula), from Latin ērūca, arugula.] |