Hydrocarbons and alcohols of basking shark and pig liver lipids

Abstract

Four samples of the unsaponifiables of basking shark liver oil were adsorbed on alumina and eluted to yield Fractions 1–5, inclusive. Analyses by temperature programmed GC and by silica gel chromatography showed hydrocarbons in the first four fractions with squalene increasing to Fraction 3 and the pristane level being highest in Fraction 1. Aside from pristane and squalene, other hydrocarbons occurred at levels of 420–750 mg% in the oils on a weight basis, of which about 60% constituted a series of n‐paraffins (relative carbon number range: 15.0–38.0) together with smaller amounts of at least one branched chain saturated group. Unsaturated hydrocarbons eluted mainly after squalene. The oils contained up to 460 mg% sterol and 78–270 mg% alcohols of C₁₀ to C₃₀, the ratio of saturated to unsaturated members being about 1.6. The composition of the unsaponifiable lipids of pig liver was quite different from that of the marine oils. It contained 10.6% sterol in addition to 400 mg% alcohols, the latter consisting of 81.8% saturated components (C₁₂ to C₃₁; ratio of saturated: unsaturated members, 4.4). The hydrocarbons comprised 450–700 mg% of the unsaponifiable mixture and squalene, paraffins and additional unsaturated components occurred at levels of 20.6, 24.4 and 11.9 mg%, respectively. The saturated hydrocarbons were high in normal homologs of relative carbon number range, 15 to 36; pristane could not be detected.