1. The flesh of Lepidocybium flavobrunneum and Ruvettus Pretiosus has been analyzed, and were both found to contain approximately 20% of oil consisting primarily of wax.
2. The flesh and acetone-soluble oil of both species produce seborrhea besides diarrhea in rats, and are judged not suitable for food.
3. The acetone-soluble oil has been fractionated into the hydrocarbon, wax, glyceride and polar substance fractions by column and thin-layer chromatography, and alcohol and fatty acid constituents of wax and glyceride fractions analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography.
4. The main constituents present are: cetyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol and oleic acid in wax and oleic and eicosenoic acids in glyceride.
5. Hydroxy oleic acid is not recognized, differing from the observation of Cox and REID on the oil of R. pretiosus.
