What is "succinic acid"

n. (context organic compound English) A colourless crystalline dicarboxylic acid, (CH₂COOH)₂, that occurs naturally in amber and is important in the metabolic Krebs cycle.

n. a dicarboxylic acid (C4H6O4) active in metabolic processes

Succinic acid is a dicarboxylic acid with chemical formula (CH)(COH). It is a white, odorless solid. In an aqueous solution, it ionizes to anions (that is, conjugates to a conjugate base) called succinate , which plays a role in the citric acid cycle, an energy-yielding process in all living organisms. As a radical group it is called a succinyl group. The name derives from Latin succinum, meaning amber, from which the acid may be obtained.