Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (649 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Product of the oxidation of ethanol and of the destructive distillation of wood. It is used locally, occasionally internally, as a counterirritant and also as a reagent. (Stedman, 26th ed)
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Acetic Acid Glacial; Glacial, Acetic Acid; Glacial Acetic Acid; Acetic Acid, Glacial; Vinegar.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Acetates
- Narrower topics
- Potassium Acetate; Sodium Acetate; Zinc Acetate
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 13,456 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Acetic Acid” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 2,421 of them (18.0%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 4,539 records.
Reviews account for 400 records (3.0%) and meta-analyses for 54. Randomized controlled trials number 285 (2.1%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 3,093 |
| 2000-2009 | 3,403 |
| 2010-2019 | 4,539 |
| 2020 onward | 2,421 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 400 | 3.0% |
| Meta-analyses | 54 | 0.4% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 285 | 2.1% |
Method: PubMed query "Acetic Acid"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Short-Chain Fatty Acid Acetate in Body Weight Control and Insulin Sensitivity | 2019 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 414 | cc by PMID 31426593 · DOI · PMC6723943 |
| Food odors trigger Drosophila males to deposit a pheromone that guides aggregation and female oviposition decisions | 2015 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 113 | cc by PMID 26422512 · DOI · PMC4621432 |
| Acetic acid stress in budding yeast: From molecular mechanisms to applications | 2021 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 82 | cc by PMID 34000094 · DOI · PMC8361955 |
| Results comparison of cervical cancer early detection using cerviray ® with VIA test | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 3 | cc by PMID 39844244 · DOI · PMC11752994 |
The Short-Chain Fatty Acid Acetate in Body Weight Control and Insulin Sensitivity [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The interplay of gut microbiota, host metabolism, and metabolic health has gained increased attention.
- Closing excerpt
- Notably, human data are scarce, which highlights the necessity for further human research to investigate acetate's role in host physiology, metabolic, and cardiovascular health.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (200 words)
The interplay of gut microbiota, host metabolism, and metabolic health has gained increased attention. Gut microbiota may play a regulatory role in gastrointestinal health, substrate metabolism, and peripheral tissues including adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, liver, and pancreas via its metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Animal and human data demonstrated that, in particular, acetate beneficially affects host energy and substrate metabolism via secretion of the gut hormones like glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY, which, thereby, affects appetite, via a reduction in whole-body lipolysis, systemic pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, and via an increase in energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Thus, potential therapies to increase gut microbial fermentation and acetate production have been under vigorous scientific scrutiny. In this review, the relevance of the colonically and systemically most abundant SCFA acetate and its effects on the previously mentioned tissues will be discussed in relation to body weight control and glucose homeostasis. We discuss in detail the differential effects of oral acetate administration (vinegar intake), colonic acetate infusions, acetogenic fiber, and acetogenic probiotic administrations as approaches to combat obesity and comorbidities. Notably, human data are scarce, which highlights the necessity for further human research to investigate acetate's role in host physiology, metabolic, and cardiovascular health.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31426593 · DOI · PMC6723943
Food odors trigger Drosophila males to deposit a pheromone that guides aggregation and female oviposition decisions [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Animals use olfactory cues for navigating complex environments.
- Closing excerpt
- 9-Tricosene thus functions via Or7a to link food-odor perception with aggregation and egg-laying decisions.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (144 words)
Animals use olfactory cues for navigating complex environments. Food odors in particular provide crucial information regarding potential foraging sites. Many behaviors occur at food sites, yet how food odors regulate such behaviors at these sites is unclear. Using Drosophila melanogaster as an animal model, we found that males deposit the pheromone 9-tricosene upon stimulation with the food-odor apple cider vinegar. This pheromone acts as a potent aggregation pheromone and as an oviposition guidance cue for females. We use genetic, molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral approaches to show that 9-tricosene activates antennal basiconic Or7a receptors, a receptor activated by many alcohols and aldehydes such as the green leaf volatile E2-hexenal. We demonstrate that loss of Or7a positive neurons or the Or7a receptor abolishes aggregation behavior and oviposition site-selection towards 9-tricosene and E2-hexenal. 9-Tricosene thus functions via Or7a to link food-odor perception with aggregation and egg-laying decisions.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 26422512 · DOI · PMC4621432
Acetic acid stress in budding yeast: From molecular mechanisms to applications [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Acetic acid stress represents a frequent challenge to counteract for yeast cells under several environmental conditions and industrial bioprocesses.
- Closing excerpt
- In this view, how this knowledge could be used to contribute to the development and competitiveness of yeast cell factories for sustainable applications will be also discussed.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (146 words)
Acetic acid stress represents a frequent challenge to counteract for yeast cells under several environmental conditions and industrial bioprocesses. The molecular mechanisms underlying its response have been mostly elucidated in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where acetic acid can be either a physiological substrate or a stressor. This review will focus on acetic acid stress and its response in the context of cellular transport, pH homeostasis, metabolism and stress-signalling pathways. This information has been integrated with the results obtained by multi-omics, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches aimed to identify major cellular players involved in acetic acid tolerance. In the production of biofuels and renewable chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass, the improvement of acetic acid tolerance is a key factor. In this view, how this knowledge could be used to contribute to the development and competitiveness of yeast cell factories for sustainable applications will be also discussed.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 34000094 · DOI · PMC8361955
Results comparison of cervical cancer early detection using cerviray ® with VIA test [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- ObjectivesThis study investigates the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, namely Cerviray AI®, compared with Cerviray® expert, aiming to compare its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC ROC).
- Closing excerpt
- gov Identifier NCT06518070 Retrospectively registered.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (159 words)
ObjectivesThis study investigates the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, namely Cerviray AI®, compared with Cerviray® expert, aiming to compare its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC ROC). The Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) test is used as the gold standard.ResultsThe study involved 44 patients from various health centers in West Java Province. Performance of Cerviray AI®, or Cerviray® expert, and lastly VIA tests were compared in their ability to detect pre-cancerous cervical lesions in high-risk women of childbearing age. The current study indicated that Cerviray AI® had a sensitivity of 42.9%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, and ROC AUC values of 71.4%. In comparison, the evaluation of the Cerviray® expert demonstrated a sensitivity of 71.4%, specificity of 97.3%, PPV of 83.3%, and ROC AUC values of 84.4%. In conclusion, the evaluation of Cerviray® expert outperformed Cerviray AI® in ROC AUC values.Trial registrationClinical Trials.gov Identifier NCT06518070 Retrospectively registered.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 39844244 · DOI · PMC11752994
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Acetogenesis and the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway of CO(2) fixation [5]
- Research article Overcoming acetate in Escherichia coli recombinant protein fermentations [6]
- Research article Clinical outcomes of radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous alcohol and acetic acid injection for hepatocelullar carcinoma: a meta-analysis [7]
- Research article An overview of acetic acid ulcer models--the history and state of the art of peptic ulcer research [8]
- Research article Minimizing acetate formation in E. coli fermentations [9]
- Research article Varieties, production, composition and health benefits of vinegars: A review [10]
References
- Hernández MAG, Canfora EE, Jocken JWE, Blaak EE. The Short-Chain Fatty Acid Acetate in Body Weight Control and Insulin Sensitivity. . 2019. PMID 31426593 · DOI · PMC6723943
- Lin CC, Prokop-Prigge KA, Preti G, Potter CJ. Food odors trigger Drosophila males to deposit a pheromone that guides aggregation and female oviposition decisions. . 2015. PMID 26422512 · DOI · PMC4621432
- Guaragnella N, Bettiga M. Acetic acid stress in budding yeast: From molecular mechanisms to applications. . 2021. PMID 34000094 · DOI · PMC8361955
- Harsono AB, Susiarno H, Suardi D, Mantilidewi KI, Wibowo VD, Hidayat YM. Results comparison of cervical cancer early detection using cerviray ® with VIA test. . 2025. PMID 39844244 · DOI · PMC11752994
- Ragsdale SW, Pierce E. Acetogenesis and the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway of CO(2) fixation. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2008. PMID 18801467 · DOI · PMC2646786
- Eiteman MA, Altman E. Overcoming acetate in Escherichia coli recombinant protein fermentations. Trends Biotechnol. 2006. PMID 16971006 · DOI
- Germani G, Pleguezuelo M, Gurusamy K, Meyer T, Isgrò G, Burroughs AK. Clinical outcomes of radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous alcohol and acetic acid injection for hepatocelullar carcinoma: a meta-analysis. J Hepatol. 2010. PMID 20149473 · DOI
- Okabe S, Amagase K. An overview of acetic acid ulcer models--the history and state of the art of peptic ulcer research. Biol Pharm Bull. 2005. PMID 16079471 · DOI
- De Mey M, De Maeseneire S, Soetaert W, Vandamme E. Minimizing acetate formation in E. coli fermentations. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007. PMID 17668256 · DOI
- Ho CW, Lazim AM, Fazry S, Zaki UKHH, Lim SJ. Varieties, production, composition and health benefits of vinegars: A review. Food Chem. 2017. PMID 27979138 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.