Studies on Phosphate of Unsaponifiable Substance of Cod Liver Oil (Especially Vitamin A). I

With the increase of vitamin A unit as the objective, primary hot saponification and secondary cold saponification were carried out in hydrogen stream on cod liver oil from tuna (Thynnus orientalis) of 100, 000 I.U. of vitamin A1, in accordance with the method of saponification of quantitative determination. As a result, high unit of 700, 000 I.U. and 1, 600, 000 I.U., respectively, was obtained. Esterification of the unsaponifiable matter from these two was reëxamined and it was found that the purified secondary unsaponifiable substance invariably yielded a phosphate by phosphoryl chloride when submitted to dehydrochloride catalysis with pyridine. Spectral analysis shows that the absorption maximum of the purified phosphate was in the range of 300mμ.