Abietic acid is an organic compound that occurs widely in trees. It is the primary component of resin acid, is the primary irritant in pine wood and resin, isolated from rosin (via isomerization) and is the most abundant of several closely related organic acids that constitute most of rosin, the solid portion of the oleoresin of coniferous trees. Its ester or salt is called an abietate.Abietic acid is extracted from tree rosin. The pure material is a colorless solid, but commercial samples are usually a glassy or partly crystalline yellowish solid that melts at temperatures as low as 85 °C (185 °F). It belongs to the abietane diterpene group of organic compounds derived from four isoprene units. It is used in lacquers, varnishes, and soaps, and for the analysis of resins and the preparation of metal resinates. It is found in Pinus insularis (Khasi Pine), Pinus kesiya Royle, Pinus strobus (Eastern White Pine), and Pinus sylvestris (Scots Pine).
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