Abstract
Escolar (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum) belonging to family Gempylidae are caught by a rope stretching fishing. The sale of escolars for food, however, is prohibited in Japan because their muscles are rich in wax which may cause a food poisoning. In order to use this wax as a base of medicine or cosmetics, the purification and refinement of the wax and its safety were investigated. Escolar's muscle contained about 20% lipid and its 88.8% consisted of wax. The wax was composed of C32, C34, C36 and C38 and the main component was C34H66O2. The components of alcohols, as unsaponifiable substances of escolar wax, were mainly C16 : 0 and C18 : 1, as well as those of sperm whale (Physeter catodon) wax. The components of fatty acids, as saponifiable substances of the wax, was mainly C18 : 1 and those of highly unsaturated fatty acids a little. Escolar wax was refined by deacidification, decolorization with activated white soil, hydrogenation with Cu-Cr catalyst and molecular distillation. The refined wax was semisolid at room temperature and smelled faintly like margarine. Its safety was asseyed by acute toxicity test, skin irritation test, eye's mucous membrane irritation test and contact sensitization test. The results showed that the refined wax was highly safe, indicating the usefulness for a base of medicine of cosmetics.
