High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Palmitic acid, or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in animals and plants. Its molecular formula is CH3(CH2)14CO2H. As its name indicates, it is a major component of the oil from palm trees (palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil). Palmitate is a term for the salts and esters of palmitic acid. The palmitate anion is the observed form of palmitic acid at basic pH.