ADSORPTION AND DIGESTIBILITY OF HIGHER ALIPHATIC ALCOHOLS 257 



of cetyl alcohol in a number of marine animals is a further suggestion as to 

 its probable absorption. It is found in the livers of a number of fishes as a 

 component of the glyceryl ether, chimyl alcohol. 41-44 Cetyl alcohol has also 

 been shown to be present as such in some fish liver oils. 42,45 



Stetten and Schoenheimer 36 used a deuterated cetyl alcohol by which 

 they obtained direct proof that cetyl alcohol is absorbed by the rat. More- 

 over, it was found that this alcohol is rapidly converted to palmitic acid 

 in the intestinal mucosa. This rapid transformation to another product 

 which is normally present probably accounts for the failure to detect the 

 alcohol in the chyle in the earlier tests. These workers also demonstrated 

 that deuteropalmitic acid was converted to deuterocetyl alcohol which, 

 in turn, could be isolated from the feces. It is interesting that a con- 

 version of deuterocetyl alcohol to deuterostearic acid was also indicated. 

 The results did not determine whether the transformation of the acid to the 

 alcohol, or the reverse change, takes place in the lumen of the gut or in the 

 intestinal wall. However, it is believed that the latter site is the more 

 probable one. 



(2) Stearyl Alcohol 



Stearyl or octadecyl alcohol, CH 3 (CH 2 )i6CH 2 OH, has the same relation- 

 ship to stearic acid that cetyl alcohol has to palmitic acid; it has been de- 

 tected only once in feces when it had not previously been fed. Schoen- 

 heimer and Hilgetag 34 reported it in a sample of dog feces, but the amount 

 was far less than that of cetyl alcohol. However, after the feeding of deu- 

 terostearyl alcohol to rats, its conversion to stearic acid was easily demon- 

 strated 34 ; stearic acid was likewise shown to be convertible to stearyl alco- 

 hol. The fate of stearyl alcohol is therefore believed to be quite similar to 

 that of cetyl alcohol. When fed to normal animals, it is readily absorbed 

 in the intestine, and is converted to the corresponding acid in the intestinal 

 mucosa. It is likewise believed to be an intermediate in the conversion of 

 stearic to palmitic acid. 



Stearyl alcohol is a component of batyl alcohol, which is one of the glyc- 



41 M. Tsujimoto and Y. Toyama, Chem. Umschau Gebiete Feite, Ole, Wachse u. Harze, 

 29, 27-29, 35-37, 43-45 (1922). 



42 Y. Toyama, Chem,. Umschau Gebiete Fette, Ole, Wachse u. Harze, 32, 113-115 (1925); 

 Chem. Ahst., 19, 2882 (1925). 



43 Y. Tovama, Chem. Umschau Gebiete Fette, Ole, Wachse u. Harze, 31, 61-67, 153- 

 155 (1924);* Chem. Abst., 18, 2613, 3733 (1924). 



44 J. C. Drummond and L. C. Baker, Biochem. ./., 23, 274-291 (1929). 



44 Y. Toyama, Chem. Umschau Gebiete Fette, Ole, Wachse u. Harze, 29, 237-240, 245- 

 247 (1922); Chem. Abst., 17, 892-893 (1923). 



