Vitamin Content of Salmon

Abstract

THE tables of the vitamin content of foods of Fixsen and Roscoe¹ are in constant use in assessing the vitamin value of diets. Our attention, however, has recently been directed particularly to salmon. The vitamin A concentration of body oil and flesh oil is there given as 4,400–52,500 and 0–20,480 international units per 100 gm., while the vitamin D concentration of flesh oil is listed as 9,500 international units per 100 gm., and the vitamin D content of salmon flesh at 200–800. The ascorbic acid content given is 89·9–215·6 mgm. per 100 gm. of flesh. These vitamin C figures are higher than any reported for oranges and lemons and equal those given for varieties of blackcurrant, noted for their antiscorbutic properties. Taken together with a calorific content thrice that of orange juice, these values suggested that salmon might be regarded as deserving of precedence over the citrus fruits for import space.