DISTRIBUTION OF DIETARY SQUALENE IN A WANDERING ALBATROSS, DIOMEDEA EXULTANS

ALTHOUGH trace amounts of squalene occur widely as a precursor to the biosynthesis of sterols, large concentrations are rarely found in nature and there is little information on the dietary intake of squalene in natural conditions. It is therefore interesting that a wandering albatross has been found1 to have consumed considerable quantities of squalene. This conclusion was based on the composition of 188 ml. of oil collected from its stomach (8.6 per cent squalene and 77 per cent wax esters) and on evidence that the stomach oils of birds of this order are dietary residues. I now report the distribution of dietary squalene in the organs of the same albatross, and its exclusion from the brain. Excess squalene in these organs did not enhance cholesterol synthesis. © 1969 Nature Publishing Group.