The biochemical composition of fin whale blubber

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Abstract
Fin whale [Balaenoptera physalus] blubber is a heterogenous tissue containing 8.9-77.4% lipid, 3.1-33.8% protein, and 0.07-0.73% ash by wet wt. The blubber may be subdivided into 3 macroscopically distinct zones. The outermost zones contained up to twice the lipid content of the innermost zone adjacent to the muscle, which contains more protein. Anterior ventral blubber contained less lipid, more protein (of which 50% was collagen), and more ash than posterior dorsal blubber. Fetal blubber contains 1.2% lipid, 10.6% protein, and 0.93% ash by wet wt. Blubber lipid contained .apprx. 60% triacylglycerol and .apprx. 25-30% free fatty acid, compared with .apprx. 25% triacylglycerol and .apprx. 10% free fatty acid in fetal blubber lipid, which also contained .apprx. 40% phospholipid. The high free fatty acid component was partly due to postmortem hydrolysis in samples analyzed. Monounsaturated fatty acids compared .apprx. 60% of blubber lipid: 16:0, 16:1, 18:1, 20:1, 22:1 and 22:6 predominate, similar to the dietary intake. The predominant fatty acids in the outermost and the innermost blubber zones were 22:1 and 16:0, respectively. This may have significance in energy storage and catabolic breakdown.

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