Das Bürzeldrüsensekret des Papageientauchers (Fratercula arctica) / The Uropygyal Gland Fat of the Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

Abstract

The uropygial (preen) gland fat of the puffin (fratercula arctica) is mainly a mixture of waxes (77%) and triglycerides (23%). The isolated triglycerides which are the main part of the fat tissue of the gland differ only little from the depot fat which was investigated simultaneously. After separation into groups of equal carbon number by preparative GLC the waxes were shown to be a complex mixture of esters between straight-chain, even-numbered alcohols (chain-length C8, C10, C12, C14 and C16) and octanoic, decanoic and dodecanoic acid.