Phloretic acid

Phloretic acid is an organic compound with the formula HOC6H4(CH2)2CO2H. It is a white solid. The compound contains both phenol and carboxylic acid functional groups. It is sometimes called Desaminotyrosine (DAT) because it is identical to the common alpha amino acid tyrosine except for the absence of the amino functional group on the alpha carbon.

Production and occurrence
Phloretic acid is produced by reduction of the unsaturated side chain of p-coumaric acid. Together with phloroglucinol, it is produced by the action of the enzyme phloretin hydrolase on phloretin.

It is found in olives. It is found in the rumen of sheep fed with dried grass. It is also a urinary metabolite of tyrosine in rats.

Polyesters have been prepared from phloretic acid.

It is one of the products of flavonoid metabolism performed by the bacterium Clostridium orbiscindens, a resident of some human intestinal tracts.

Drug uses
Phloretic acid is used in the synthesis of Esmolol.