Cod liver oil
Fish oils have been found to contain certain components, including vitamins A and D and others not clearly identified themselves, which can significantly reduce blood clotting, and make platelets formed internally less likely to stick together to themselves and to blood vessels in the body; thereby lessening the chance of heart attack due to coronary artery clot. Fish oil might also prevent hardening of the arteries, in that it appeared to indicate in testing that it might be more effective than polyunsaturated vegetable oils in lowering triglyceride levels in the blood. Cod liver oil is obtained by extraction under pressure from the livers of fishes of the Gadidae species, and is substantially composed of fatty acids glycerides, specifically glycerides of palmitic, stearic, myristic and ricinoleic acid, of cholesterol and of remarkable amounts of vitamins A and D. Cod have been found to be one of the most important food fishes for human beings. These fish live in the northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Cod liver oil is a yellow, fishy smelling oil obtained from the livers of codfish. The liver in cod functions somewhat similar to the human organ, its manifold functions including the storage and filtration of blood, secretion of bile for digestion, excretion of diverse substances formed elsewhere in the organism and numerous metabolic functions. Cod-liver oil has been known and used for many years as a valuable preparation due to its vitamin contents, and has recently awakened new interest due to its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Cod liver oil fortified with vitamins A and D is employed as a natural source of vitamins A and D, and because it is rich in iodine. Vitamin A has been termed the anti-infective vitamin, and is employed because it tends to increase the power of the epithelial surfaces to resist local infection, in organisms suffering from a vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A has been found to be essential for normal function of the retina, in combining with red pigment of retina (opsin) to form rhodopsin (necessary for sight in partial darkness), in acting as a co-factor in enzyme systems; and its necessity for growth of bone, testicular functions, ovarian function, embryonic development, regulation of growth and differentiation of tissues. Vitamin D is an antirachitic vitamin, and useful in these compositions for promoting calcification of the bony structures. Cod liver oil is traditionally used in medicine as a source of vitamins A and D, and is also employed, mainly in veterinary medicine, as a promoter of tissue healing. Such activity, however, does not appear to have been exploited in topical preparations for the treatment of burns and scalds.
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