The component fatty acids of elephant‐seal oil: Variations and relationship to blubber fats of other seals

• Published in: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
• Main Authors: Winter, G., Nunn, W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1953
• Subjects: Elephant Seal
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.2740040909; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjsfa.2740040909; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jsfa.2740040909

Abstract The work reported deals with the variations in composition of seal‐blubber fats in general and with that of elephant‐seal blubber in particular. The iodine values of the blubber fats of elephant seal varied between 98 and 153. Although there appears to be a tendency for the iodine value to be higher during the winter months, the results of detailed analyses failed to show any correlation of the fat composition with seasonal changes or the physiological state of the animal. The compositions of the blubber fats from other seal species are similar to those observed for the elephant seal, indicating that no distinct feature of blubber‐fat composition can be attributed to any one species. The results presented show that the saturation and desaturation processes during the depot‐fat metabolism are in the main confined to acids of chain length greater than C 18 . The distribution of the unsaturated fatty acids in seal‐blubber fats is similar to that in whale‐blubber fats.