Hydrocarbons of dogfish and cod livers and herring oil

Abstract

Dogfish and cod liver oils and the oil from the whole herring were saponified and the hydrocarbons concentrated by chromatography of the unsaponifiable portion over alumina followed by silica gel treatment of the resulting fractions. Temperature programmed gas chromatography employing a 3% SE-30 packing was applied to the analysis of hydrocarbons of C₁₄ to C_32.5. The paraffins comprised two or more groups. Dogfish liver oil gave rise to 7.62% unsaponifiables and pristane, other saturated types, squalene and an additional group, high in unsaturated components, were 193, 325, 308 and 200 mg% in this portion or 15.7, 24.8, 23.5 and 15.3 mg%, respectively, in the oil. Cod liver oil yielded 1.0% unsaponifiables of which the above hydrocarbons in the order stated amounted to 0.30%, 1.15%, 3.29% and 2.27% or 3.0, 11.5, 32.9 and 22.7 mg% in the liver oil. The unsaponifiable material of herring oil (1.35%) was prominent in paraffinic hydrocarbons, the levels of the above specified components being 16.34%, 3.51%, 0.99% and 1.41% as stated or 221, 47.4, 13.4 and 19.1 mg% in the oil. The sterol and alcoholic contents were ascertained for the three marine oils and the glyceryl ether levels found to be highest for dogfish liver oil.