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The fatty acids obtained on hydrolysis of sebum from newly-born babies contained approximately equal amounts of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and 10% of a-hydroxyacids. Gas chromatographic examination showed that the saturated fatty acids (C12 to C30) contained 78% branched-chain and 22% normal compounds, while the unsaturated acids (C12 to C32) contained 15% branched and 85% normal compounds. The a-hydroxyacids (C10 to C26) contained 79% branched-chain and 21% normal components and had little if any unsaturation. The high proportion of branched-chain acids suggests that these are not likely to be exogenous.
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DT Downing (1963) studied this question.
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