Some minor constituents of liver oils

Abstract

Liver fat and unsaponifiable fractions therefrom were subjected to extensive chromatography with spectrophotometric control. Irrespective of the source (Argentine shark, fine-whale, sheep, ox, horse) formation of a variety of vitamin A artifacts handicaps the search for new minor constituents. One sample of ox liver fat unsaponifiable matter yielded a compound with a highly characteristic absorption spectrum quantitatively indistinguishable from that of a compound C16H19O isolated by Morice from butter fat. Its origin is unknown, but it is maybe a casual contaminant rather than a normal lipid constituent. A lipid unsaponifiable constituent with [lambda] max. 270 m[mu] was isolated from horse liver and identified with cholesta-3:5-dien-7-one. Whether it is an artifact or not remains open, but the balance of evidence is in favor of its occurrence as such. A 2d substance with a very similar absorption spectrum ([lambda] max. 272 m[mu]) was obtained; it is richer in O2 than the dlenone and probably contains 3 O2 atoms in the molecule. A saturated higher aliphatic hydrocarbon and an unsaturated hydrocarbon, possibly hepene (C45H76) were isolated from horse liver. Carotenoids (mainly [beta]-carotene) are present in horse and ox liver and to a lesser extent in sheep liver. The unsaponifiable fractions from horse kidney and spleen lipids contain in addition to cholesterol a waxy fraction (probably hydrocarbon), [beta]-carotene, small amounts of a substance with maximum about 270 m[mu] and of another substance with [lambda] max. 274-276 mu.