3-hydroxyoctanoic acid 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid is a beta-hydroxy acid that is naturally produced in humans, other animals, and plants. 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid names preferred iupac name 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid other names 3-hydroxycaprylic acid; β-hydroxyoctanoic acid identifiers cas number 14292-27-4 y 3d model (jsmol) interactive image chebi chebi:37098 chemspider 24791 mesh c101940 pubchem cid 26613 unii 8m44b02csj y comptox dashboard (epa) dtxsid00864487 inchi inchi=1s/c8h16o3/c1-2-3-4-5-7(9)6-8(10)11/h7,9h,2-6h2,1h3,(h,10,11)key: ndplakgoszhtph-uhfffaoysa-ninchi=1/c8h16o3/c1-2-3-4-5-7(9)6-8(10)11/h7,9h,2-6h2,1h3,(h,10,11)key: ndplakgoszhtph-uhfffaoyai smiles cccccc(cc(=o)o)o properties chemical formula c8h16o3 molar mass 160.213 g·mol−1 except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °c , 100 kpa). infobox references 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid is the primary endogenous agonist of hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 3 (hca3), a g protein-coupled receptor protein which is encoded by the human gene hcar3. in plants, signalling chemical emitted by the orchid cymbidium floribundum and recognized by japanese honeybees (apis cerana japonica).