Studies of sebum. 9. Further studies of the composition of the unsaponifiable matter of human-forearm ‘sebum’

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Abstract
A further study has been made of the sterol and wax alcohol fractions of the unsaponifiable matter of human-forearm sebum. Gas chromatography was used to study the composition of the alcohols with up to 20 C atoms in the molecule. The alcohols formed a homologous series similar to that of the fatty acids of sebum. There were fewer unsaturated and highly branched alcohols in comparison with the acids and the average chain length of the major alcohols appeared to be longer than that of the major acids. The sterol fraction contained traces of 7-dehydro-cholesterol (0.003% of the unsaponifiable matter), isocholesterol (0.07% of the unsaponifiable matter) and unidentified keto steroids. Alkane 1, 2-diols, calculated as C20 diols, appear to account for 1.6% of the unsaponifiable matter.