부산대학교 도서관

Cast skins of various snakes and in addition one lizard were found to contain 3.5-8.6% extractable lipid material. Lipids obtained from a cast skin of the Indian python were analyzed in detail indicating the presence of hydrocarbons (squalene, cholestadiene and alkanes), monoester waxes, sterol esters, diester waxes, triglycerides, sterols, free fatty acids and even more polar lipids. Among the monoester wax constituents odd-numbered secondary alkanols were found. It is assumed that the above lipids originate from cells of the past integumental generation and that they play an important facilitating role during the sloughing process.