Partition Coefficient of the Anti-Obesity Health Supplement Raspberry Ketone

Health supplements are widely used among the general public for a variety of applications, however due to not being regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, there is typically scant independent scientific studies on their physicochemical properties. One such supplement that has shown promise for enhanced weight loss is 4-phenyl-2-butanone, commonly referred to as raspberry ketone(1). This study experimentally determined the partition coefficient of raspberry ketone.

The partition coefficient is a physicochemical trait that indicates whether a substance will be absorbed by plants, animals, humans, or other living tissue; or if it will be carried away and disseminated in water. These values are important to medicinal chemists in determining how compounds may be distributed in the human body(2).

A standard curve of concentration versus absorbance was created to measure the partitioning of raspberry ketone in a mixture of water and 1-octanol, which was determined to be 0.74. This value indicates a hydrophobic preference. Experimental details and discussion of the results are provided herein.