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Myristoleic Acid
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Ingredients/Fatty acid/Myristoleic Acid

Myristoleic Acid.

Strength pending.The research strength is not set yet.

A 14-carbon monounsaturated fat found in milk fat and nutmeg butter. Your body makes it from myristic acid, and it serves as fuel and membrane material.

MAFatty acid
Myristoleic AcidIngredientMD
Category
Fatty acid

What Myristoleic Acid is, and what it does.

Does it work
This one is for formulators reading a fat profile and for people already using a cetylated fatty acid joint product. Human research on the free acid is thin.
How much to take
No dose figure is on record and no human intake band has been set. Start with what a food fat provides rather than a number nobody has measured.
Time to feel it
Nobody has measured a time course in people. As a dietary fat it is absorbed over hours and turns up in tissue fat across weeks.
The first dose
It is absorbed with meal fat into chylomicrons across a few hours. Day one registers in lipid handling rather than in anything you sense.
With regular use
Over weeks it joins the body's fat pool, and part of it is elongated to 16:1 and beyond. Longer-term outcomes have not been measured in people.
How well tolerated
No adverse signal is on record from food amounts, and isolated supplementation has not been studied in people. Check with your clinician before taking an isolated fatty acid.
How it feels
No subjective effect has been reported, and nobody has looked for one. It behaves like ordinary dietary fat.
The overlooked benefit
With a single double bond it resists peroxidation much more than polyunsaturated fats do, so a blend carrying it holds up longer in storage.

The proof, claim by claim.

These words describe the research, not the molecule's worth. Research strength is how much work stands behind one claim, and it is never a product score.

  • desaturation of myristic acid by stearoyl-CoA desaturaseNarrative review
  • resistance to lipid peroxidation relative to polyunsaturated fatsIn vitro study
  • presence in ruminant milk fat and nutmeg butterNarrative review
  • joint comfort and mobility with cetylated fatty acid complexesRandomised trial
  • chain elongation into longer monounsaturated fatty acidsAnimal study
PubMedCochraneClinicalTrials.govNIH ODSSUPP.AILabs test. IngredientMD verifies.PubMedCochraneClinicalTrials.govNIH ODSSUPP.AILabs test. IngredientMD verifies.
Pairs well with12 on file

Why these belong in the same formula. Each row says what the basis is, from settled biochemistry through to a trial that measured the pair.

Myristoleic Acid + Linoleic AcidBoth are unsaturated fatty acids competing for the same intestinal absorption route via micelle incorporation and for the same elongation and desaturation enzyme system.

Fatty acids of similar chain length share micellar packaging, enterocyte uptake and the elongase and desaturase machinery downstream. Where one is abundant it occupies enzyme capacity the other would otherwise use. This is a general fatty acid principle and does not imply a problem at ordinary dietary intakes.

Myristoleic Acid + MCT OilMedium-chain fatty acids bypass micelle formation and go directly to portal circulation, while a 14-carbon monounsaturate takes the standard chylomicron route. Co-ingestion changes which route the fat load takes.

Chain length dictates the absorption route: below about 12 carbons fats go portal, above it they go lymphatic via chylomicrons. Myristoleic acid at 14 carbons is firmly in the chylomicron group. Mixing the two in one formula means two different transport fates from the same capsule.

Myristoleic Acid + Vitamin EUnsaturated fatty acids are subject to peroxidation at their double bond, and alpha-tocopherol is the principal chain-breaking antioxidant that terminates lipid peroxidation in membranes and in oil.

Any oil containing a double bond will oxidise on exposure to oxygen, heat and light, and tocopherol is the standard protection both in the bottle and in the membrane. A single double bond makes myristoleic acid far less peroxidation-prone than a polyunsaturate, so the requirement is lower than for fish oil. The pairing is formulation convention with sound chemistry behind it.

Myristoleic Acid + Vitamin CAscorbate regenerates the tocopheroxyl radical back to alpha-tocopherol, which is what lets a limited tocopherol pool keep terminating lipid peroxidation chains.

Tocopherol is consumed each time it quenches a lipid radical unless something reduces it back. Ascorbate does that at the aqueous interface of the membrane. This is settled redox biochemistry and applies to any unsaturated lipid, not specifically to this one.

Myristoleic Acid + Vitamin DFat-soluble vitamins depend on dietary fat for micelle formation and chylomicron incorporation. A long-chain fatty acid taken at the same meal supports that packaging.

Cholecalciferol absorption is poor without a fat load to trigger bile release and form mixed micelles. A long-chain fatty acid is an adequate vehicle for that purpose. The relationship is generic to dietary fat and confers nothing special on this particular fatty acid.

Myristoleic Acid + Fish OilBoth are unsaturated fatty acids incorporated into the same membrane phospholipid pool, and both compete for acyltransferase capacity during phospholipid remodelling.

Membrane phospholipid composition reflects the relative supply of available fatty acids, since the acyltransferases handling remodelling are not exclusive to one species. A large intake of one shifts the ratio incorporated. The direction and magnitude of any shift from a 14-carbon monounsaturate has not been quantified in people.

Myristoleic Acid + Sunflower LecithinPhospholipids act as emulsifiers, dispersing an oil phase into finer droplets and increasing the surface area available to pancreatic lipase.

Lipase acts at the oil-water interface, so anything that increases that interface increases hydrolysis rate. Lecithin is the standard emulsifier used for this in oil-filled softgels. The effect is on dispersion, not on the fatty acid itself.

Myristoleic Acid + LipasePancreatic lipase hydrolyses the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of dietary triglyceride, releasing free fatty acid and 2-monoacylglycerol for micelle formation. This is the obligatory first step before any dietary fatty acid can be absorbed.

A fatty acid delivered as a triglyceride is not absorbable until lipase cleaves it. Where pancreatic output is reduced, supplemental lipase addresses that step. This is a general lipid digestion requirement and is not specific to any one fatty acid.

Myristoleic Acid + Ox BileBile salts solubilise lipolysis products into mixed micelles, which is how fatty acids reach the enterocyte brush border. Without adequate bile, long-chain fatty acid absorption falls sharply.

Micelle formation is the rate-limiting step for long-chain fatty acid uptake, and bile salts are what make micelles form. This matters for anyone with reduced bile flow or after gallbladder removal. It is a general lipid principle applied to a 14-carbon fatty acid.

Myristoleic Acid + L-CarnitineLong-chain fatty acids require carnitine palmitoyltransferase-mediated transfer across the inner mitochondrial membrane before beta-oxidation. Myristoleic acid at 14 carbons falls in the carnitine-dependent range.

The carnitine shuttle is the gate for long-chain fatty acid entry into mitochondria, and chain lengths of roughly 14 and above go through it. Carnitine is normally made endogenously in sufficient quantity, so this describes the pathway rather than establishing a supplementation need.

Myristoleic Acid + Vitamin B2 RiboflavinBeta-oxidation begins with acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, an FAD-dependent enzyme, and the electron transfer flavoprotein downstream is also flavin dependent. Riboflavin is the precursor to both flavin cofactors.

Every turn of the beta-oxidation spiral passes electrons through an FAD-dependent dehydrogenase. Riboflavin deficiency impairs fatty acid oxidation for that reason, which is documented biochemistry. At normal riboflavin intakes this is not a limiting step.

Myristoleic Acid + AstaxanthinAstaxanthin is a lipid-soluble carotenoid that partitions into membranes and oil phases, where it can act on lipid radicals. It also needs a lipid vehicle for absorption.

Carotenoid absorption depends on co-ingested fat for micelle formation, so an oil vehicle raises uptake substantially compared with a dry powder. The relationship runs in the direction of the oil helping the carotenoid. Any protective effect back on the oil is plausible from astaxanthin's membrane position but has not been quantified for this fatty acid.

Who should be cautious

Nothing specific on file for Myristoleic Acid. Match the label to the daily amount above, and tell your doctor what you take.

Not medical advice. Show the label to your pharmacist.

What Myristoleic Acid actually does.

Established

This is a 14-carbon monounsaturated fat that the body forms from a saturated fat of the same length, using an enzyme that adds one double bond.

Established

The enzyme that makes this fat needs oxygen and some cofactors to work, and it's the same enzyme that turns other common saturated fats into their unsaturated versions.

Established

Because it has just one double bond, this fat resists oxidative damage much better than fats with many double bonds.

Established

You find this fat in measurable amounts in dairy fat from cows and similar animals, and in a few seed oils, notably nutmeg butter.

Getting Myristoleic Acid from food.

The whole-food sources on file. A supplement closes the gap, it does not replace dinner.

ButterWhole milkNutmeg butter

A gram-for-gram figure (how much of each you would eat to match a dose) will appear here once it is sourced and reviewed. This page will not print a number it cannot cite.

The forms it comes in.

Myristoleic acid, free acidThe unesterified acid, a liquid at room temperature with a melting point well below that of its saturated counterpart because of the cis double bond kink.Fits Analytical standards and research use where the defined single compound is needed.Trade-off Free fatty acids are more prone to oxidation and are irritating to mucosa at concentration. The free acid form is uncommon in consumer products for these reasons.
Natural triglyceride oil containing myristoleic acidThe fatty acid esterified into the glycerol backbone alongside other fatty acids, which is how it occurs in natural oils and fats. Requires lipase hydrolysis before absorption.Fits Any oil-based delivery where the natural fat matrix is retained, such as a whole seed or animal-derived oil.Trade-off The fatty acid is one component among many in a natural oil, so the delivered amount depends entirely on the source oil's profile and cannot be set independently.
Ethyl myristoleateThe fatty acid esterified to ethanol rather than glycerol, produced by transesterification. This is the standard route for concentrating a single fatty acid out of a mixed natural oil.Fits Concentrated single-fatty-acid preparations where the natural oil is too dilute to be practical.Trade-off Ethyl esters need esterase hydrolysis and release ethanol, and absorption kinetics differ from the triglyceride form. Concentration also strips the minor components of the source oil.
Cetylated fatty acid complexA mixture of fatty acids esterified to cetyl alcohol, in which myristoleate is one named component among several. Sold as a complex rather than as an isolated compound.Fits Topical and oral joint-comfort formulations built around the ester complex rather than a single fatty acid.Trade-off The composition is a proprietary blend, so the actual myristoleate content is often not disclosed and varies by manufacturer. Attributing anything to one component of the blend is not possible from the label.Active and formulation aid
Nutmeg butter fractionNutmeg fat is unusually rich in 14-carbon fatty acids, and fractionation concentrates that portion. Composition follows the botanical source.Fits Sourcing a 14-carbon-rich lipid from a plant feedstock.Trade-off Nutmeg carries myristicin and elemicin, which are pharmacologically active compounds that must be excluded during fractionation and verified absent. The purification step is doing real work here.
What the strongest studies found

The essence, in one line each.

  1. A Mendelian randomisation analysis reported that genetically predicted monounsaturated fatty acid levels were not associated with the cardiovascular event outcomes examined.Cohort study. Mazidi M et al., 2020 (Frontiers in Nutrition). PMID 32984395 ↗
  2. Free fatty acid profiles in seminal plasma were characterised in men with reduced sperm motility undergoing antioxidant therapy, with individual fatty acids reported as part of the profile.Cohort study. Amirjannati N et al., 2025 (JBRA Assisted Reproduction). PMID 39873419 ↗
  3. An untargeted metabolomic screen reported shifts in brain and blood metabolite signatures, including fatty acid species, after a dietary supplement in sleep-restricted animals.Animal study. Long Y et al., 2025 (Metabolites). PMID 41002961 ↗

These are the studies our verdict leans on, chosen from the 3 we read for Myristoleic Acid. The full linked list is below.

FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.