The biological significance of the unsaponifiable matter of oils

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Abstract
It had been noted that feeding the unsaturated hydrocarbon squalene to rats caused an increase in the amount of unsaponifiable fraction of their livers, due primarily to doubling the amount of cholesterol present. This suggested that squalene or some similar substance must be the precursor. The study was undertaken to compare the amount of sterol and the other unsaponifiable substances present, and if possible to find the source of the squalene in certain livers. The unsaponifiable matter of the livers and liver oils of several varieties of fish were prepared and their sterol content obtained. To determine the source of this material, a similar study of a number of plankton samples was made. The shallow water fish were obtained fresh from the water and the livers separated at once, deep water fish were obtained as fresh as possible. Detailed tables show the variety of fish used, the amount of unsaponifiable matter, the % of sterols and the I values of the oils obtained. A similar report of the varieties of plankton used and their contents is given. Squalene was present in the liver oils of only 3 of the Squalidae family. Others had reported it present in a variety of fish though the source of food was common. It is hard to explain how certain varieties of fish could synthesize squalene and closely related types could not. The variation in the amount of unsaponifiable matter in different types was great. There was just as wide a variation in the % of sterols in the unsaponifiable fractions of the oils of various families. The only rule that seemed apparent was that as the amount of unsaponifiable matter increased the amount of its sterol content decreased. It would appear that the squalene was not widely distributed in fish oils. No conclusion could be reached as to whether it was synthesized in fish or obtained in the food.

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