On “kaeruzame”,
Heteroscymnus longus Tanaka, the vitamin A content of the liver, eye, flesh and other organs, as well as the characteristics of the liver oil and its unsaponifiable matter, were determined and given in tables.
1. The liver consists of about 10.7-17.9% of the body weight. The oil content of the liver is 62.5-80.5%, and the vitamin A content of the liver oil is 2, 990-16, 700IU/g.
2. The vitamin A contents of the kidney, pancreas, spleen, egg and eye are similar to those of common surface sharks.
3. The oil content of the flesh is 15.8-23.1%, the vitamin A content of the oil of common flesh, 510-1, 550IU/g and that of the oil of the dark flesh, 320-856IU/g. The oil of the flesh contains about 10% of the unsaponifiable matter but no squalene.
4. The vitamin A content in the flesh is 9, 120-26, 800IU/100g, the highest vitamin value of the fish flesh that has ever been known. The vitamin A content in the dark flesh is 5, 750-17, 000IU/100g.
5. Total vitamin A, both in the liver and in the flesh, have been calculated and the latter was found to contain vitamin A in the proportion of 5-7% of the former.
The species is a very remarkable one as it accumulates vitamin A mostly in the liver, and yet maintains a high content of vitamin A in the flesh, nearly as high as that of the lamprey.
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