Ants, formic acid from

NOTE If acids are not available, use acid salt (alum, sulfates and chlorides other than sodium or potassium). The formic acid from crushed red ante can also be used. 

The name formic acid comes from formica, the Latin word for ant. Formic acid was first isolated by distillation from ants in 1670. A molecnlar model of formic acid is shown. 

Virtually all materials extracted from plants and animals fall under the heading of organic compounds— that is, compounds that include some combination of carbon and hydrogen. In the chemist s quest for materials, plants and animals have always been exploited as much as the stones we have focused on so far. Extracts of herbs have been used for medicines and ethanol for mood control. Soaps and many dyes have their origins in plant and animal products, as do many acids, including acetic acid from sour wine, lactic acid from milk, citric acid from lemons, and formic acid from the dry distillation of ants (alchemists tended to throw anything in the pot that was not faster than they were). 

Other ant species also use formic acid as a weapon. In fact, this acid is fairly common in ants. It got its name from the Latin word formica, which means ant. Some ants, such as the red ant, inject formic acid into their victims just as bees do. Ants, bees, and wasps actually all belong to the same biological order, Hymenoptera. Animals in this order have an ovipositor (a special organ for depositing eggs in hard to reach places). In some ants, bees, and wasps, this ovipositor has evolved into a stinger that is used to inject venom instead of eggs. 

Other ants, like the carpenter ant, are incapable of stinging, but that does not stop them from biting and then squirting formic acid into the wound. In this case, because the venom is not injected, a baking soda paste can quickly neutralize the venom and ease the pain. Fire ants, however, have toxic alkaloid venom. Regardless of whether the ant that bites or stings you has acidic or alkaline venom, however, one thing remains the same—it hurts ... 

It was first isolated from ants and takes its name from the Latin word for ant, formic a. An ant bite injects a small amount of formic acid into the victim, accounting for the... 

The formacine ants possess a formic acid gland from which they may eject a spray of concentrated formic acid. Eisner refers to a formacine ant as a spray gun on legs. The formic acid spray may be employed either defensively to ward off predators or offensively to incapacitate prey. 

Since carboxylic acids are amongst the earliest organic compounds to be isolated from nature, a large number of them are known by their common names. The common names end with the suffix -ic acid and have been derived from Latin or Greek names of their natural sources. For example, formic acid (HCOOH) was first obtained from red ants (Latin formica means ant), acetic acid (CH C OOH) from vinegar (Latin acetum, means vinegar), but n ic acid (CH3CH2CH2COOH) from rancid butter (Latin butyrum, means butter). 

Occurrence.— If red ants be made to pass over blue litmus paper and be at the same time irritated, they leaveared streak behind them, produced by the formic acid which they qect. By placing the hand on an ant hill, a tingling sensation is felt from the same cause, and the hand acquires the powerful and pleasant odour of formic acid. 

Many carboxylic acids were first isolated from natural sources and were given names based on their origin. Formic acid (Latin formica, meaning ant ) was obtained by distilling ants. Since ancient times acetic acid (Latin acetum, for vinegar ) has been known to be present in wine that has turned sour. Butyric acid (Latin butyrum, meaning butter ) contributes to the odor of both rancid butter and ginkgo berries, and lactic acid (Latin lac, for milk ) has been isolated from sour milk. 

Another important class of organic compounds that we shall meet frequently, even in the early chapters of the text, are the carboxylic acids. These compounds are characterized by the carboxyl group, — COOH (7). As their names suggest, these compounds are acids. The most common example is acetic acid, CH3COOH (8 formally, ethanoic acid), the acid that gives vinegar its sharp taste. Another simple carboxylic acid is formic acid, HCOOH (9 formally, methanoic acid), the acid of ant venom. Note how the systematic (formal) names of the carboxylic acids are derived from the parent hydrocarbons (ethane and methane, respectively) by adding -anoic acid as a suffix to the stems eth- and meth-. 

Systematic names for carboxylic acids use the -oic acid suffix, but historical names are commonly used. Formic acid was first isolated from ants, genus Formica. Acetic acid, found in vinegar, gets its name from the Latin word for sour (acetum). Propionic acid gives the tangy flavor to sharp cheeses, and butyric acid provides the pungent aroma of rancid butter. 

Several aliphatic carboxylic acids have been known for centuries, and their common names reflect their historical sources. Formic acid was extracted from ants formica in Latin. Acetic acid was isolated from vinegar, called acetum ( sour ) in Latin. Propionic acid was considered to be the first fatty acid, and the name is derived from the Greek protos pion ( first fat ). Butyric acid results from the oxidation of butyraldehyde, the principal flavor of butter butyrum in Latin. Caproic, caprylic, and capric acids are found in the skin secrehons of goats caper in Lahn. The names and physical properties of some carboxylic acids are listed in Table 20-1. 

How are organic compounds named Long ago, the name of a compound was often based on the plant or animal source from which it was obtained. For example, the name for formic acid, a caustic compound isolated from certain ants, comes from the Latin word formica, meaning ant and alli-cin, the pungent principal of garlic, is derived from the botanical name for garlic. Allium sativum. 

Formic acid, a carboxylic acid with an acrid odor and a biting taste, is responsible for the sting of some types of ants The name is derived from the Latin word formica, meaning ant. ... 

The simplest organic acid is formic acid, HCOOH. It can be made by distilling ants, and its name is from the j. atin word for ant. 

Occurrence.—The members of this series of acids are derived from the methane series of hydrocarbons and occur very commonly in nature. In a few cases they are found free as formic acid in ants and nettles and valeric acid in the root of Valeriana. In most cases the acids are combined with alcohols as esters and as such are found in ethereal oils, fats and waxes. This has given them the name fatty acids. 

In industry, exposure to formic acid can occur through the oral, dermal, and inhalation routes. Formic acid can also be produced in the mouth and stomach from ingested formaldehyde. Formic acid can also be produced in the liver and other organs from the metabolism of methanol and formaldehyde. Stings by bees, wasps, and ants may result in the subcutaneous injection of formic acid. 

Against this reduction of the body to chemical terms a long and bitter struggle was waged - yet it was a crucial stage in the development of scientific understanding of the nature of life, quite apart from its importance in the development of medicine. The alchemists had known that if one concentrated urine one could crystallize out urea, and that the distillation of ants in a retort produced the pungent formic acid. And it had been known since... 

Carboxylic acids have common names derived from Latin or Greek words that relate to their natural sources. For example, formic acid is obtained from ant secretions, in Latin, ant is formica hence the name formic acid. The names of acetic acid (acetum, vinegar), butyric acid (butyrum, butter) and stearic acid (stear, tallow) are derived in the same way. 

The inhibition of the enzyme tyrosinase may very well be a key to the control of melanoma, and some of the known inhibitors include eommon substances. Thus, vitamin C, among other common and uncommon substances, has been listed as an enzyme inhibitor for tyrosinase in M.K. Jain s Handbook of Enzyme Inhibitors, 1965-1977 (1982). In addition to ascorbic acid (vitamin C), these other substances include the following halide ion (e.g., from the chloride of common salt, or from iodides and fluorides) butyric acid (from rancid butter) lactic acid (the end product of cancer cell metabolism, found naturally in sour milk products) oxalic acid (ordinarily considered toxic, although it occurs naturally in rhubarb and wood sorrel, etc.) formic acid (a component of ant stings) tyrosine itself and deadly cyanide (which is a chemically bound component of laetrile), as found in almonds (notably bitter almonds), in apricot seeds, and in certain legumes such as beans, etc., although the heat from cooking may drive off the cyanide content. 

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