Composition of Fin Whale Milk
By

KEIZO OHTA, TOSHINAO W ATARAI, TmTSU OISHI, YUKIO UESHIBA,
SmN1cm HrnosE, ToRu YosmzAwA, YAEKO AK1KusA,
MICHIO SATO and HIDEKO OKANO(Department of Pediatrics, Tokyo Dental and Medical University)

Introduction

In studying the relation between the rate of growth and thecomposition of the milk during the nursing stage of various mammals,
as shown in Table I, the greater the rate of growth is, the greater isthe amount of substances necessary for the organization of the body,as protein, minerals, etc., contained in the milk of the animal. 1 )Table I.

Rate of Growth and Composition of Milk of Various Mammals---- --------~-----! Days requi.red for the body'1

Protein

Mineralsweight at birth to double

%

%

120
60
47
22
15
14

1.30
2.14
3.50
3.76
5.15
6.20
9.08
9.72

0.30
0.35
0.75
0.85
0.93
1.07
0.51
0.91

Human
Horse
Cow
Goat
Sheep
Hog
Cat
Dog
From Pfaundler and

9~9Schlossmann's Handbuch der Kinderheilkunde

Of the mammals the animal with the largest body is the Cetacea.
According to Peters2) the length of the fin whale at birth averages 6
meters, and 6 months later (at the end of the nursing stage) it becomes 12 meters, at 1 year 15 meters, at 2 years 19 meters and at 68 years 21 meters. According to Nishiwaki3) the male reaches thesexual maturity in 3.5 years, the female in 4 years, and it is said
that it lives 25-30 years. In other words, throughout the course oflife the rate of growth during the nursing stage is the greatest. In
this sense the analysis of the whale milk is an interesting subject butreports on this are very few.
A report will be made in this paper on the results obtained byanalyzing the milk from 3 fin whales by comparing it with the humanand cow milk.

152

K. OHTA, T. WATARAI, T. OISHI, Y. UESHIBA, S. HIROSE, T. YOSHIZAWA

Materials

The whale milk the authors used in this study was that obtained
from 3 fin whales which will be tentatively called fin whale milk A, B
and C, respectively.
The fin whale milk A and B was obtained from the 2 fin whales
captured qy the Tonnan-maru group of ships belonging to the Nihon
Suisan Kabushiki Kaisha (Japan Fisheries Co., Ltd.) in the Antarctic
Ocean (near the Ross Bay), and the fin whale milk C from the fin
whale captured by the Baikaru-maru group of ships organized jointly
by the 3 companies, Kyokuyo Hogei (Polar whaling co.), Nihon Suisan(Japan Fisheries co.) and Taiyo Gyogy6 Co., in the Arctic Ocean (southof the Aleutian Islands), the milk being obtained at the time thewhales were slaughtered after being captured, preserved in an electric
refrigerator and sent to the authors through the courtesy of Dr. M.
Nishiwaki of the whale Research Institute in Tokyo. The authors express their thanks to those cooperating in the collection and transportation of the fin whale milk.
The general characteristics of the fin whale A, B and C are shownin Table II.
Whale milk A was a part of about 2 liters of milk flowing out
from the mammary gland of a 71-foot fin whale during dissection, andfrom the state of the mammary gland, uterus and corpus luteum. thisfin whale was considered to be in the last half of the nursing stage.
This milk was collected on Feb. 8, 1952, and 136 grams of it were sent
to the authors on March 4, 1953. Whale milk B was a part of about
0.5 litter of milk flowing out from the mammary gland of a 72-footfin whale during dissection and was considered to be in the weaning
stage. This milk was collected on March 12, 1953, and 128 grams of
it weie sent to the authors on May 14, 1953. Whale milk C was apart of about 2 liters flowing out from the mammary gland of a 65foot fin whale and was considered to be in the last half of the nursing
stage. This milk was collected on August 29, 1953, and 130 grams of
it were sent to the authors on Oct. 24, 1953.
Results

Color and external appearance: Fin whale milk A was of a creamcolor with a brownish yellow tone, fin whale milk B a cream color
with a light red tone and fin whale milk C a milk white color, allbeing of the so-called cream color. According to Dr. Nishiwaki thecolor of the fin whale milk A and B was said to be darker than that

Latter half stage
March 4, 1953

Maximum diameter of corpus luteumStage of secretion

Date whale milk was received

Number of corpora lutea

right 7
left 5New(-)Left 5.5 cm.
Right 4.0 cm.

Weight of ovary
Old:

Grayish yellow

Color of uterus

6.0cm.
Beginning of latter halfof lactation stageOct. 24, 1953

Right 4.5 x3.5 x4.0 cm.
Latter half stage(Weaning state)
May 14, 1953

right 7
left 9New (-)

Old:

Right and left
almost the same

Left 14 cm Right 16 cm

Maximum width of uterus corm1

I

About 2 lit.
19.0 cm.
Brownish yellow
Left 20 cm
Right 20 cm
Brownish red
Left l.2kg.
Right 1.0 kg.
Old: right 3
left 4New(-)
About 0.5 lit.
11.0cm.

About 2 lit.
22.5 cm.
White

1

(-)

(-)

(-)

N. !at. 50°27 1
E. long. 162°23'
Fin
Female65 feet6.0 cm.

(-)

Place of slaughter (Capture)

Date of slaughter (Capture)
Date of beginning of treatment

Name of Whaling ship group(-)

Baikaru-maru(Arctic Ocean)05; 45, Aug. 29, 1953cKind of Whale
Sex
LengthThickness of subcutaneus fat
Gastric content
EmbryoAmount of milk
Thickness of mammary gland
Color of mammary gland

B(Courtesy of Dr. Nishiwaki)

Tonan-maru(Antarctic Ocean)
18 ; 30, March 12, 1953
20; 40, March 12, 1953
S. !at. 69°48 1 ;W. long. 163°12'
Fin
Female72 feet6.0cm.

A

General Characteristics of Whales Captured in the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans

Tonan-maru(Antarctic Ocean)05; 55, Feb. 8, 1952
19; 15, Feb. 8, 1952
S. !at. 69°23 1 ;W. long. 166°47 1
FinFemale71 feet6.0 cm.

Table II.

(")......
(.)1
w

~
:;;"

(b"

po

::>"

::EJ

s·

>Tj

0
...,

p

a·

~'""'"

0

'O

8

0

154

K. OHTA, T. WATARAI, T. OISHI, Y. UESHIBA, S. HIROSE, T. YOSHIZAWAof the fresh milk.
thick areamy state.

The external appearance of all 3 showed a very
(Table III)
Table

III.

Color Tone
Whale milkA

Whale milk
B

Whale milkc

Human milk

Cow milk

Whale milk

Human milk

Cow milk

Fishy smell A

1--Arom~tic Ver;

Taste and !____________
fiavor-- ______________
Whale milkA

Whale milk
B

Flavor resembles j Same as whalec: Somewhat fishyj~!t~~~~~~ge~'---=~~~----- ~:~!' t:~~ingent! little sweet ___ l __ sli~htl~~=~e~Taste and fiavor: Both fin whale milk A ane B had a fiavor
resembling a cod liver oil and the taste was somewhat astringent but
the fin whale milk C had a somewhat fishy smell and compared to theformer 2 the astringent taste was light. According to Dr. Nishiwaki
the taste and fiavor of the fin whale milk C were said to be close to
those of the fresh milk but those of the fin whale milk A and B werestronger than those of the fresh milk. (Table III)Specific gravity: (18°C)
Measuring method 4)-The specific gravity of the whale milk wasdetermined by the copper sulfate method. In case the specific gravity
was lighter than that of water, a drop of the milk was dropped intoa measuring cylinder with a certain amount of water, and then alcohol
was added little by little, determining the proportion of water toalcohol where this drop of milk neither sank nor rose. The specificgravity of this mixture of water and alcohol was measured and thevalue obtained was taken as the specific gravity of the whale milk.
The specific gravity of the human and cow milk was determined by ahydrometer.
The specific gravity of the whale milk A was 1.012, whale milk B
0.994 and whale milk C 1.003, all being lighter than the specific gravity
1.032 of the human and cow milk (Table IV). This was probably due
to the large amount of fat contained in the whale milk.
Surface tension : (20°C)
Measuring method5)-From the principle that the ratio of the surface tension between the two kinds of solutions is equal to the ratio
between the specific gravity and the number of drops, the number ofComposition of Fin Whale Milk

155

drops of equal amounts of the whale milk and water was measured byusing Traubes stalagmometer, and the surface tension of the whale
milk was calculated with the surface tension of water (against air 72.8
dynes/cm) as the basis. As the whale milk was viscid and the surface
tension could not be measured in this state, the whale milk was diluted
4-fold with distilled water and the surface tension was measured forgeneral information. The surface tension of the whale milk A was
38.4 dynes/cm and whale milk B 39.8 dynes/cm, being far greater thanthat of the undiluted human and cow milk (Table IV). By the same
method the surface tension of the whale milk C was measured but it
could not be measured successively because the liberation of fat was
rapid.
Table

IV.

Specific gravity (18 °C)
Whale milkA

Whale milk
B

Whale milkc

Human milk

Cow milk

1.012

0.994

1.003

1.032

1.032

Whale milk

Human milk

Cow milk

44.4

51.2

Surface tension (dyne/cm)
Whale milkA

(20°C)

Whale milkBc

As it was not measurable in the original state, thevalue is that diluted 4-fold with distilled water
-

38.4

39.8

----, --

Viscosity : (20°C)
Measuring method 6)-The viscosity was measured by Hess' viscosimeter. As the viscosity of the whale milk was high and impossible tomeasure, the value was that of the whale milk diluted 4-fold with
distilled water.
The value of the whale milk A was 2-6 centipoises, the whole
milk B 6.4 centipoises and the whale milk C 1.2 centipoises. The
viscosity of the whale milk A and B was far higher and that of thewhale milk C was lower than that of the undiluted human and cow
milk but it still showed that the viscosity of the whale milk A, B and
C was quite high (Table V).
Boiling point:
Measuring methodn-The boiling point was measured roughly witha 200°C thermometer and accurately with Beckmann's apparatus. The
boiling point of the whale milk A was 98.5°C and the whale milk B
and C 98.2°C, being lower than that of the human and cow milk
(Table V).

156

K. OHTA, T. WATARAI, T. OISHI, Y. UESHIBA, S. HIROSE, T. YOSHIZAWA
Table
Viscosity (centipoise)

Whale milk
A

V·

(20°C)

Whale milk
B

Whale milkc

As it was not measurable in the original state, thevalue is that diluted 4-fold with distilled water

2.6

6.4

Boiling point (1. 2

Human milk

Cow milk

2.1

2.3

i

°C)

Whale milkA

Whale milk
B

Whale milkc

Human milk

Cow milk

98.5

98.2

98.2

101.2

100.4

PH and acidity :Measuring method-The PH was determined with the PH test
paper manufactured by the Toyo Filter Paper Company, Ltd., and theacidity was measured by applying Soxhlet-Henkel's method8): One to
2 drops of the alcohol solution, to which the indicator, phenolphthalein,
was added at the rate of 2%, were added to 10 cc of the whale milk
and measured with 1/4N NaOH.
The PH of the whale milk A, B and C was 4.6, 6.2 and 6.4,
respectively, all being lower than that of the human and cow milk.
Especially the whale milk A and B showed a fairly high acidity, theacidity of the whale milk A being high with a value of 46.7 and thatof the whale milk C being comparatively low with a value of 21 (Table
VI). The reason for this was considered to be due probably to thewhale milk A and B acidifying during the long period from the timeof the collection of the milk to the time of analysis. As will be statedlater, this fact was confirmed by the comparison of the amount oflactose contained in the 3 whale milk.
Table

VI.

PH (Toyo filter paper)
Whale milkA

Whale milk
B

Whale milkc

Human milk

Cow milk

6.4

7.0

6.8

---------

4.6

1

6.2

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' - - - --~-------

Acidity (Soxhlet-Henkel's method)
Whale milkA

46.7

Whale milk
B

Whale milkc

Human milk

Cow milk

21.0

5.0

7.1

157

Composition of Fin Whale Milk

Water content:
Measuring methodn)rn)_The whale milk was mixed with refinedwhite sand and dried by air bath of 98-100°C. The amount of thedecrease in weight was made to represent _the water content, which
was expressed in % .
The water content was much less than that of the human and cow
milk (Table VII) and the solid substances were about 4 times those of
the human and cow milk, this naturally accounting for the creamy
state of the whale milk.
Table VII.
Chemical composition (%)------------ -----------------------

Water

ProteinFat----- - ---- -·--------···---- J --------

Whale milk A
Whale milk B
Whale milk C
Human milk
Cow milk

53.4
55.0
54.1
87.5

13.3
12.3
10.5
1. 7
3.4

88.1
_j __

·------ - -Lactose-------- ------~~--- -

33.0
31.8
32.5
3.5
3.1

0.3
0.2
1.4
7.1
4.7

Minerals-- -----

1.0
0.7
1.4
0.2
0.7

---~-

Protein:
Measuring method 11)-Five grams of the whale milk were quantitatively measured for the total nitrogen by Kjeldahl's method, andthe figure obtained by multiplying the amount of the total nitrogen by
6.38 was made to represent the amount of protein. Casein nitrogen
was determined by adding 70-80 cc of water to 10 gm. of the whale
milk, heating to 40-42°C., adjusting the PH to 4.5 with 1.0 cc of 10%
acetic acid solution and l.Occ of 1 N sodium acetate solution, cooling,
precipitating the casein, drying and filtrating this solution witµ the
No. 6 Toyo filter paper and measuring the nitrogen in the precipitate
together with the filter paper by Kjeldahl's method. Noncasein nitrogen was determined by quantitatively measuring the nitrogen in 20 ccof the filtrate.
The soluble protein fractions of the whey were studied by dialyzing
the filtrate of 40 cc (lOgm.) of the whale milk, from which casein was
i:emoved by the same method stated above (human and cow milk was
diluted to about 1:10 and the whale milk to about 1:40), in an ice roomwith a cellophane paper in a 50% gum arabic solution, concentrating
the entire content to about 1/20 till the protein content became about
2-4% and then studying the protein fraction electrophoretically withTiselius' apparatus.
The amount of protein was very great, being 6-8 times that of
the human milk and 3-4 times that of the cow milk (Table VII).

158

K. OHTA, T. WATARAI, T. 01SHI, Y. UESHIBA, S. HIROSE, T. YOSHIZAWA

There was less of the casein nitrogen than the noncasein nitrogen,being similar to the amount in the human milk (Table VIII). In
studying the protein fractions, electrophoretically, of the whey of thewhale milk C after removing the casein, as shown in Fig. I, the resultsof the analysis showed that the A/G ratio was 1.6, average albumin
61.8% and globulin 38.2%, the albumin, contrary to the human milk,
being greater and that the globulin fractions were: a-globulin 2.5qla,
1g-globulin 10.1 ~;,;; and r-globulin 30.4%, r-globulin being the greatest.
Table VIII.
Kinds of Proteins (mg%)
Total N-·--- - - - - - - - - - - - ---Whale milk A
Whale milk B
Whale milk C
Human milk
Cow milk

Casein N---

Noncasein N

N.P.N.

---

2082
1921
1650
266

849 (41%)660 (34%)
770 (46%)
118 (44%)1233 (59%)
1266 (66%)
880 (54%)148 (56%)537

416 (78%)

121 (22%)

56.0
26.3
71.7

Next, in order to examine
the amino acid in the hydrolyzed substance of the whale milk,
an equal amount of 10% hydrochloric acid or 5 N sodiumAlG!
hydroxide was added to thewhale milk, decomposed byboiling for 24 hours at 100°C,
Fig. I.
dried by evaporation, dissolved
in distilled water and a certain amount examined by paper chromatography. For filter paper the No. 2 Toyo filter paper was used. For
solvent N-butyl alcohol saturated with water, S-collidin saturated withwater and phenol liquified with 0.1% ammonia water were used. For
color reaction 0.25% ninhydrin-butyl alcohol solution saturated withwater was used 12) 13),
As in the human and cow milk, in both the whale milk A and B
glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine, lysine,arginine, histidine, tryptophan, asparaginic acid, glutamic acid, serine,
threonine, tyrosine, cystine and methionine were found.
Fat:
Measuring method-The fat content was measured by Gerber's
method.
The size of the fat globule was measured by measuring the diameter of the fat globule with a microscope attached with an ocularAlComposition of Fin Whale Milk

159

net and expressed in per cent. The method of measuring the milk
fat is as stated below.
Saponification value (Kottstorfer's method)14)-Fifty cc of 0.5 N
alcoholic KOH were added to 4-5 gm. of the whale milk, heated until
Saponification was completed by attaching a refluent refrigerator andtitrated with 0.5 N HCl, with phenolphthalein as the indicator.
Acid value 15)-Fifty cc of 95% neutral alcohol were added to lOgm.
of the whale milk, heated to 60-65°C and dissolved, and titrated with
0.1 N potassium hydroxide, with phenolphthalein as the indicator.
Iodine value (Heubner's method)16 )-Chloroform and iodine solutions
were added to 0.5 gm. of the whale milk and titrated after being left
standing for 6 hours with sodium thiosulfate, the corresponding iodine
value of which had been tested beforehand, with starch solution as
the indicator.
The fat content was very large, being about 10 times that in thehuman and cow milk (Table VII). There was more of the fat globulesof far larger size than in the human and cow milk (Table IX, Fig. II).
Table IX.
Size of fat globules (%)
Less than
1. 48.u
Whale milk A
Whale milk B
Whale milk C
Human milk
Cow fresh
Cow homogenized

27
28
20
35
24
73

'

1.492.85µ2.865.70µ5.717.18µ7.1911.40µ

41
26
38
44

22

2
6

6
4
2

56
27

34
34
21
16
0

5
0
2
0

0
2
0

Greaterthan
11.41µ221000Fig. II. is a picture of the whale milk B. Besides the fatglobules
numerous cells are seen in the picture. According to the authors'
study on the human milk large fat globules and various kinds of cells
appear in the milk during the weaning stage. The whale milk B waspresumed to be the milk of the weaning stage from the state of the
mammary gland, corpus luteum, etc. of the whale and this microscopic
finding confirmed this fact. Three kinds of characteristic values ofthe milk fat were measured but the saponification, acid and iodine
values were all much higher than those of the human and cow milk
(Table X), and in comparing the 3 whale milk they all showed
generally similar values with the exception oi the acid value of thewhale milk A and B, which was conspicuous in being especially higher
than that of the whale milk C.

Human milk

Cowmilk

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CE回E
ω・回目︒回目・︑円・ペSEEd 司kp
fHJJ
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Fin whalemilk

日目︒

Composition of Fin Whale Milk
Table

161

X.

Characteristic values of Milk fat
Acid value
Whale milk A
Whale milk B
Whale milk C
Human milk
Cow milk

3.7
2.7
0.9
0.1
0.2

! Saponification value
329.0
298.9
389.0
196.0
236.0

Iodine value

188.5
80.0
101.0
55.0
26.0

In comparing these characteristic values with the results obtainedby Pedersen17) 18\ on the milk fat of the sperm whale and humpback
whale and those by Alent19 ) on the milk fat of the white fin whale,both the saponification and iodine values were very much alike butacid value of the whale milk A and B was 6-10 times higher thanthat of the milk of the whales stated above, only the acid value ofthe whale milk C showing a slightly higher value. The reason forthis was probably due to the fact that the elapse of time between thecollection and analysis of the whale milk A and B was long and therefore the fat decomposing and the isolated fatty acid increasing during
preservation.
Lactose:Measuring method 20 )-About 80 cc of water were added to 5 gm. of
the whale milk and to this mixture 1.5 cc of Fehling's copper sulfate
solution were added, heated and adjusted to neutral or to a very slightacid with N/4 alkali, after the crystallized sediment had settled, thesupernatant fluid was filtered into a 100 cc measuring bottle and lOOcc
of water added to this filtrate; 40cc of the 200cc were added to 20cc
of boiling Fehling's solution and boiled further for exactly 6 minutes;
the crystallized cuprous oxide was collected being carefull not to comein contact with air as much as possible, dissolved in 40 cc of ferricsulfate solution and this solution was colored to a faint red with apotassium permanganate solution; the amount of copper was calculated
from the amount of KMn0 4 consumed, and the amount of the lactose
was calculated from the lactose quantitative determination table.
The amount of lactose was very small, being roughly about 1/201/30 of that in the human milk and 1/15-1/25 of the cow milk in thecase of the whale milk A and B and about 1/5 of the human milk andabout 1/3 of the cow milk in the case of the whale milk C. However,that the amount of lactose in both the whale milk A and B was verysmall is not the essential property but it is considered that a part ofthe lactose decomposed during the long period of the preservation of
the whale milk, as stated above in regard to the PH and acidity.

162

K. OHTA, T. WATARAI, T. OISHI, Y. UESHIBA, S. HIROSE, T. YOSHIZAWA

Minerals:
Measuring method 2t) 22)-The whale milk was evaporated and driedby air bath, heated for 3 homs in the electric muffle furnace keeping
the temperature from rising above 550°C, the ash measured and thevalue expressed in per cent.
Ca. 23) 24)-0f the minerals the amount of calcium was calculated asfollows: The carbon, silicic acid and the sand thought to be containedin a minute amount were removed from the ash obtained by the above
process, ammonia water and ammonium oxalate added to the filtrate,calcium precipitated as calcium oxalate, filtered, heated for one hourin the electric muffle furnace at 1100°C, the calcium oxalate changed
to calcium carbonate and further to calcium oxide and measured.
P 25 ),-0f the minerals the phosphorus was measured as phosphoricacid as follows : A mixed solution of hydrochloric acid, ammonium
acetate and magnesia was added to the filtrate stated above fromwhich the calcium was removed, ammonia water was added and ammonium magnesium phosphate was precipitated, the precipitate washeated for 1 hour in the electric muffle furnace at 1100°C, the magnesium pyrophosphate was measured and 0.6376 times the value obtained
was the amount of the phosphoric acid.
Mg .26 )-After evaporating and concentrating by the use of thesand bath the filtrate in which the calcium was separated as calcium
oxalate, the concentrated substance was transfered on to a porcelain
evaporating dish and after evaporating and drying over a water bathit was heated over a Bunsen burner driving out the ammonium salts,
oxalic acid, etc.; next, after cooling the residue 6 N HCl was added
and the residue moistened ; after adding a small amount of boilingwater and dissolving the magnesium salt by heating for a while overa water bath it was filtered; then to the filtrate were added ammonium acetate and an excess of ammonium acetate and an excess ofammonium phosphate solution, and the indicator phenolphthalein wasadded and MgNH1P0.-6H2 0 was precipitated, heated and measured as
Mg2P201; by multiplying this value by 0.3624 the weight of MgO was
obtained.
The amount of the minerals was less than what the authors had
imagined, being approximately of the same degree as in the cow milk.
However, in the whale milk C it was about 2 times that in the cow
milk. The amount of Ca and P was near to that of the cow milk in
the case of the whale milk A; with the whale milk B it was slighter
more than in the human milk; in the whale milk C the amount of Ca
and P was large, being about several times that in the human and cow
milk; magnesium was also present at the rate of 0.232% (Table XI).

Composition of Fin Whale Milk

163

Table XL
Minerals ( % )Whale milk A
Whale milk B
Whale milk C
Human milk
Cow milk

Total

Calcium(CaO)

Phosphorus(P205)

Magnesium
(MgO)

1.03
0.74
1.37
0.20
0.74

0.190
0.066
0.323
0.054
0.165

0.125
0.040
0.409
0.038
0.194

0.232

Vitamins:
Measuring Method Vitamin A and total carotenoids-First, when
the whale milk was examined by Fujita-Aoyama's21> method for thepresence of peroxides, the peroxide number was 0 for 1 gm. of thewhale milk.
Next, for the purpose of quantitatively measuring the total carotenoids in the whale milk, 1 gm. of the whale milk was collected andto it 5 cc of 20% alcoholic potassium hydroxide were added, and after
saponifying for 10 minutes at 60°C the contents were shaken vigorously three times, each time with 2 cc of petroleum-ether and for 10
minutes at a time, extracting the total carotenoids; for the sake of
convenience it was measured with the standard solution of ,8-carotene
and the photoelectric colorimeter, and the value obtained was taken as
the value of the total carotenoids.
In regard to vitamin A, after saponifying 1 gm. of the whale milkin the same way as above it was shaken vigorously three times, eachtime with 2 cc of petroleum benzene and for 10 minutes each time,
extracting the vitamin A ; the layer of the petroleum benzene wascollected and after washing three times with water it was measured
on a weakly activated Al2 0a chromatograph (length of the column 2.5
cm; the content 0.7 cm) according to Fujita-Aoyama's method ofdetermination of the genuine value of vitamin A, the vitamin A wasextracted twice with 2 cc of benzene, each time, the benzene was
evaporated and the residue was dissolved in chloroform, Carr-Price's
reaction was brought about inside the photoelectric colorimeter apparatus and quantitatively measured colorimeterically. With the humanand cow milk 5 cc of the material were taken and measured in thesame way.
Thiamine-To 1 gm. of the whale milk distilled water was added
to bring the entire content to 50 cc, shaken vigorously for 15 minutes
and suspended; 10 cc of this content were taken as the material. In
the case of human and cow milk 100 cc of each were used for the164

K. OHTA, T. WATASAI, T. OISHI, Y. UESHIBA, S. HIROSE, T. YOSHIZAWA

study. For the removal of protein 10% meta phosphoric acid solution
was used, and the measuring method was the thiochrome flourescentmethod 29 ) 3o)ai) with permutit.
Riboflavin-Distilled water was added to 1 gm. of the whale milk
to bring the content to 50 cc, shaken vigorously for 15 minutes, heatedin water bath for 5 minutes at 80°C and suspended, shaken vigorously
further for 15 minutes and 10 cc of it were taken as the material. In
the case of human and cow milk 10 cc of each were taken as thematerial. For suspension the milk was heated in the same way inwater bath for 5 minutes at 80°C and suspended. For the removal ofprotein 10% glacial acetic acid solution was used. The measuringmethod was the lumiflavin flourescence method 32) 33).
Ascorbic acid-The quantitative determination method (Teruuchi's
modification) of vitamin C in the blood with 2, 4-dinitro-phenylhydrazine
was applied. Eight cc of distilled water were added to 1 gm. of thewhale milk (1 cc in the case of human and cow milk), mixed thoroughly
and to this 0.2% 2, 6-dichlorophenylindophenol was added and the
reduction type of ascorbic acid was changed completely to the oxidation type; then 24% tin chloride was added and the surplus dye wasremoved and then the protein was removed with 24% sulfosalicylic
acid solution. The bis-2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazone produced by theaction of 2% dinitrophenylhydrazine on the centrifuged supernatant
was dissolved in concentrated sulfuric acid and the orange-red color
appearing at this time was quantitatively determined by a photoelectriccolorimeter.
In the case of the whale milk A the easily destroyable vitamin A
and ascorbic acid were not found at all but the total carotenoids,thiamine and riboflavin were found to the same extent, or to a greater
extent, as in the human and cow milk. In the case of the whale milk
C thought to be preserved better than the whale milk A, vitamin A,
total carotenoids, thiamine, riboflavin and ascorbic acid were all foundto a considerable amonnt, especially vitamin A, thiamine and riboflavinshowing values considerably higher than in the human and cow milk
(Table XIII).
Table XIII.
Vitamins
Vitamin A
Whale milk A I
Whale milk C
Human milk
Cow milk

I noids
Total carote(includ-I ing carotene)I
0I
650 I.U. %1

20-138 I. u. %17- 60 I.U. %

25

"( %

11
"( %
25-86 "( %9--20 "( %Thiamine

Riboflavin0.093 mg%0.110 mg%0.020 mg%0.040mg%

0.084 mg%0.220 mg%0.030mg%0.150 mg%

Ascorbic
acid
00.73mg%4.80mg%l.00mg%Composition of Fin Whale Milk

165

Enzymes:
Measuring method-The method of measuring diastase was by
Wohlgemuth's method 30). To a row of test tubes were added thewhale milk diluted serially, the content of each test tube being thesame (1 cc); to this 0.1 cc of 1% starch solution was added, and after
being left standing in an incubator for 24 hours at 38°C 1-2 drops of
N/10 KJ solution are added and the number of the test tube showing
a yellow color, or in other words whether the digestion was up toachrodextrin, was observed.
The determination of lipase was done by Kayajima's alkali titration
method 37). 1 gm. of the whale milk, 0.2 cc of tributyrin (substrate),
1 cc of 0.5% gelatin solution and 1.0 cc of N/15 phosphoric acid buffer
solution (PH 7 .0) were transferred in order into a 50 cc trianglular
flask and after shaking vigorously for 2 minutes it was kept warmfor 5 hours at 37°C ; and then 25 cc of ethyl alcohol were added,
shaken vigorously for 2 minutes and filtered; 20 cc of the filtrate weretitrated for the amount of acid, decomposed from the tributyrin by
the enzymatic action, with N/20 potassium hydroxide solution using a
microbiuret and with phenolphthalein as the indicator. If this value
was a cc and a' cc the value of the control, the process of which was
performed without adding tributyrin at first but adding it after keeping the filtrate warm for 5 hours the acidity titrated in the same way
as stated above, the consumed amount of potassium hydroxide wasexpressed by a-a'.
.
38°C
The amount of diastase in the whale milk C was D24 h = 32 andthe amount of lipase was N/20 KOH titration ualue (37°C) 2.0, observing the presence of these enzymes.
Summary

Physicochemical studies were made on 3 kinds of whale milk collected from the fin whale of the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans andpreserved in an electric refrigerator for 2-15 months, and the following
results were obtained:
The external appearance was of a viscous creamy state, and theflavor was of the degree of having a slightly fishy smell in the caseof a fresh milk but in the case of an old milk it had a cod liver oillike flavor and the taste was somewhat astringent. The specific gravity
and boiling point were both lower than those of the human and cow
milk while the surface tension and viscosity were higher than those of
the human and cow milk. Due to acidification the milk was acid andthe acidity was high. The water content was lower than that of the

166

K. OHTA, T. WATARAI, T. OISHI, Y. UESHIBA, S. HIROSE, T. YOSHIZAWA

human and cow milk. The solid substances were about 4 times thosein the human and COW milk. Protein was about 8 times that of thehuman milk and about 4 times of the cow milk. The amount of casein
nitrogen and noncasein nitrogen was similar to that in the human milk.
The ratio of albumin and globulin in the whey protein studied electrophoretically was opposite to that in the human milk, albumin being
greater, and of the globulin fractions there was more of the r-globulin.
Amino acid found also in 18 kinds of human and cow milk was found.
Fat was 10 times that in the human and cow milk and there weremore of the large fat globules. The saponification, acid and iodine
values were far higher than those of the human and cow milk. Twokinds (A, B) of whale milk showed especially a high acid value but
this is not the essential property, being due probably to the decomposition of a part of the fat. Lactose was smaller in amount thanthat in the human milk, or 1/5-1/15-1/30 of that in the human milk.
This low lactose content is not the essential property, being considered
as being due to the decomposition of a part of the lactose by f ermentation because of the milk being old. The minerals were 1-2 times
those of the cow milk. In regard to the vitamins, in the whale milk
thought to be preserved comparatively well vitamin A, total carotenoids, thiamine, riboflavin and ascorbic acid were all found in considerably large amounts but in the old milk vitamin A and ascorbic acid
were not found, the amount of other vitamins being also comparatively
small. The presence of the enzymes, diastase and lipase, was demonstrated. Calories per 100 gm. were 330-350, being ve1y much higher
than the 65 calories for the human milk and the 60 calories for thecow milk.

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Composition of Fin Whale Milk

167

9) Koseisho-hen (Helfare Ministry): Eisei Kensa Shishin (Guides to Sanitary Examination)(in Japanese), 2. Ed., 3: 155, 1950.
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