Abstract
In the previous paper, authors reported that the antarctic sei whale blubber oil comprizes more than 45 fatty acids including minor constituents, some were not yet reported, such as polyunsaturated odd-numbered fatty acids (17 : 4, 19 : 5 and 21 : 5) and several branched-chain fatty acids.
In the present investigation, a quantitative comparison was made by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) of the fatty acid composition of the blubber, bone, and visceral oils from the antarctic fin whale, blue whale and sei whale.
Each oil was converted directly into methyl esters by alkali-catalyzed methanolysis, then the resulting crude methyl esters were purified by preparative silica gel thin-layer chromatography, and the refined methyl esters were analyzed by GLC using hydrogen flame ionization detector as previously reported. The composition of these methyl esters was determined for the major constituents (about 30 fatty acids) by triangulation.
As for the whales used in the present study, it was observed that the oil of sei whale was significantly different from those of fin and blue whales in the fatty acid composition, and that, in general, visceral oils contained more amounts of 20 : 5 and 22 : 6, and less quantities of monoenoic acids as contrasted with blubber or bone oils.
