Abstract
REFERENCES in the literature that the liver oil of the halibut (Hippoglossus vulgaris) is a very rich source of vitamin A (of the order of 50–100 times as rich as cod-liver oil) have been confirmed by me. However, it was soon found that not all samples of halibut liver oil gave such high values, and all potencies from 30 blue units (0.2 c.c. of 20 per cent solution) up to 1600 blue units have been observed. It is to be noted that this irregularity is the rule, and not the exception, in my experience. If halibut liver oil is to become of commercial value as a ready-made vitamin A concentrate (and this possibility is at present being investigated by several manufacturing firms), it is clearly necessary to know something of these fluctuations, whether they are seasonal, etc. This is all the more necessary as, for some reason at present unknown, halibut liver oil cannot be obtained by steaming the livers (as with cod liver oil, for example), and the more expensive process of solvent extraction must be resorted to.
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LOVERN, J. Halibut Liver Oil as a Source of Vitamin A. Nature 129, 726 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129726a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129726a0
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