Liquid wax esters in liver oils of the deep-sea teleost fish Laemonema longipes.

Abstract

The content and the constituent fatty alcohols and acids of wax esters in liver oils of the deep-sea teleost fish Laemonema longipes from the northwestern Pacific Ocean were investigated.An analysis of forty specimens revealed that their liver weights(48.9±14.9g) accounted for 10.3±1.9% of their total body weight; the livers consisted of 74.0±6.3% oils. The liver oils contained high quantities of wax esters (73.6±11.6%) and low proportions of triglycerides (25.1±11.5%), and also significant amounts of unsaponifiable materials (35.4±5.7%), almost entirely consisting of fatty alcohols (98.8±0.5%). The relationship between the amount of wax esters in the liver (Y, g) and liver weight (X, g) was expressed by the following equation: Y=3.241+0.477X, (r=0.812). The component fatty alcohols of wax esters were found to consist mostly of monoenes (86.5±4.2%) and saturates (13.4±4.1%) of 14 to 24 carbon numbers. The principal components found were: 22:1 (47.4±4.8%), 20:1 (27.3±2.6%) and 16:0 (9.5±2.8%) alcohols. On the other hand, the wax ester fatty acids contained 18:1 (26.9±3.6%), 16:1 (15.3±1.1%), 20:5ω3 (9.4±2.7%), and 16:0 (9.3±0.8%) acids, as their major components.