Capillary supercritical fluid chromatographic analysis of shark liver oils

The liver oils of six different shark species have been analyzed by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). The liver oils were from the species Pseudotriakis microdon (False catshark), Centroscymnus coelepsis (Portuguese dogfish), Centrophorus squanosus (Leafscalp gulper shark), Deanea calceus (Birdbeak dogfish), Etmopterus princips (Greater lantern shark), and Centroscymnus crepidater (Longnose velvet dogfish). The method was capable of direct quantitation of squalene and cholesterol, while quantitation of triacylglycerols, cholesterol esters, and diacylglycerol ethers required thin-layer chromatographic fractionation prior to SFC analysis. The iodine values of the liver oil samples gave a linear correlation when plotted against the squalene content found by SFC. The variation of squalene content within one shark species is large, and there are large differences in squalene content from species to species. The squalene contents varied between 0.22 and 82.54 wt%. The identity of the glycerol ethers was investigated by SFC of the unsaponifiable matter. The major glycerol ethers contained chimyl, batyl, and selachyl alcohol.