“Lauric acid?”Here!a fatty acid found in coconut and palm kernel oil

SurfactantEmollientPlant

Hasn’t appeared in a scanned product yet.

In personal care

A medium-chain saturated fatty acid, one of the main fatty acids in coconut oil. It can be isolated and used on its own as a cosmetic ingredient.

Why it’s used

Used as a cleansing and foam-boosting ingredient in soaps and surfactant blends, and as an emollient or opacifying agent in creams and lotions.

What the evidence says

We haven’t found a source for this one that you can open and check, so we’re not summarizing the evidence.

Look it up yourself

We would rather point you at the shelf than summarize something you can’t check. These are the same places we search:

PubChem — what the substance is, chemically — names, synonyms and structure
PubMed — every paper indexed by the US National Library of Medicine that names it

These are starting points, not our findings — we haven’t run them for you. A substance whose name is also an ordinary word (“Heart”, “Alanine”, “Water”) will return papers that are not about the ingredient at all.

Context

The panel's conclusions distinguish between rinse-off uses, such as soap and cleansers, and leave-on uses, where irritation potential is more relevant at higher concentrations.

No claims graded here yet.

As a supplement

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Roll Call does not check drug interactions or assess personal safety.

A saturated fatty acid that makes up a large share of the fat in coconut oil and palm kernel oil.

Why it’s used

Taken or included in supplements for its presence in medium-chain fatty acid blends, sometimes marketed for energy metabolism or general antimicrobial properties.

What the evidence says

Laboratory studies show lauric acid has antimicrobial activity against certain organisms in vitro, but this has not translated into established evidence for oral supplementation producing a specific health benefit in humans.

Where we looked

There was no paper to cite here, so this is the search instead — run it yourself and see what we saw.

PubMed: 364 records · searched September 2026"Lauric acid"[Title/Abstract] AND (review[pt] OR "safety assessment"[Title/Abstract] OR "risk assessment"[Title/Abstract] OR toxicology[Title/Abstract] OR toxicity[Title/Abstract] OR characterization[Title/Abstract] OR characterisation[Title/Abstract])
PubMed: 5 records · searched September 2026"Lauric acid"[Title/Abstract] AND ("dietary supplements"[MeSH] OR supplementation[Title/Abstract] OR supplement[Title/Abstract] OR supplements[Title/Abstract] OR "oral administration"[Title/Abstract]) AND (randomized controlled trial[pt] OR clinical trial[pt] OR meta-analysis[pt] OR systematic review[pt]) AND humans[MeSH]
PubMed: 2689 records · searched September 2026"Lauric acid"[Title/Abstract]

This says what this database holds under these terms. It is not a finding that no research exists.

Context

Most human dietary exposure to lauric acid comes from foods like coconut oil rather than from isolated supplement doses, and no standard supplemental dosing protocol has been established in clinical research.

Rumors

1
Lauric acid kills fungi and bacteria.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- Paleo Leap — an individual: paleo diet recipes site; earns Amazon affiliate commissions
  How we know who this is
  “These days, Paleo Leap is operated by Rick Norton.” (their page)
  “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” (their page)
2
Lauric acid supports overall immune health.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- SuppCo — a retailer: sells supplements from other brands via its buying club
  How we know who this is
  “Today we’re announcing the beta release and seed fundraising round of SuppCo, a new platform to help you make sense of the complex, sprawling landscape of supplements, a $200 billion-a-year industry, and build a plan that’s optimized to your lifestyle and health goals.” (their page)
  “Shop 900+ products from the highest-quality brands and earn 30% in Supp Credits on every dollar spent.” (their page)
3
Lauric acid raises LDL cholesterol.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- Empirical — a brand: sells heart health biomarker testing and care programs; backed by Y Combinator
  How we know who this is
  “Empirical is a heart health company dedicated to preventing heart disease 100+ Biomarkers Comprehensive lab testing that goes far beyond standard cholesterol panels Model Your Risk Predict your cardiovascular risk up to 30 years in advance using statistical models Daily Prevention Evidence-based interventions and wearable insights to prevent heart disease before it starts Start now → Founded by a doctor and an engineer We built this heart health company with expertise in machine learning, consumer mobile, heart health, and value-based care.” (their page)
  “We're proud to be backed by Y Combinator , the world's leading startup accelerator, as well as top seed investors.” (their page)
4
Lauric acid (sold as monolaurin) fights viruses.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- The Rothfeld Apothecary — a retailer: sells supplements
  How we know who this is
  “Copyright © 2022. The Rothfeld Apothecary.” (their page)
  “We have supplements for all of the most popular health concerns!” (their page)
5
Lauric acid is rapidly converted into ketones and gives quick energy.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- Paleo Leap — an individual: paleo diet recipes site; earns Amazon affiliate commissions
  How we know who this is
  “These days, Paleo Leap is operated by Rick Norton.” (their page)
  “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” (their page)