Palmitic acid World War II to produce napalm. The word "napalm" is derived from the words naphthenic acid and palmitic acid. Palmitic acid was discovered by Edmond Frémy in 1840, in saponified palm oil. This remains the primary industrial route for its production, with the triglycerides (fats) in palm oil being hydrolysed by high temperature water (above ), and the resulting mixture fractionally distilled to give the pure product. Palmitic acid is naturally produced by a wide range of other plants and organisms, typically at low levels. It is naturally present in butter, cheese, milk, and meat, as well as cocoa butter,
Divinylether fatty acids linoleic acid) and colnelenicacid (from linolenic acid), could be also produced in potato leaves and tomato roots by rearrangement of 9-hydroperoxides. Isomers of colneleic and colnelenic acids were isolated from homogenates of leaves of Clematis vitalba (Ranunculaceae). Similarly, 13-lipoxygenase-generated hydroperoxides serve as precursor of other divinyl ether fatty acids which are produced in bulbs of garlic or Ranunculus leaves. These compounds were named etheroleic and etherolenic acids. Etheroleic acid has systematic name 12-[1′E-hexenyloxy]-9Z,11Z-dodecadienoic acid. Etherolenic acid has systematic name (9Z,11E,1'E,3'Z)-12-(1',3'-Hexadienyloxy)-9,11-dodecadienoic acid. The physiological significance of divinyl ethers is still not fully studied. As infection of potato leaves leads to increased