Ingredients

[Sleepyheaded_Mama]

Is there a difference between squalene used in (some of?) the H1N1 vaccines and that is linked to gulf war syndrome and squalane that is used in lotions? I just noticed squalane was an ingredient in the Nature's Gate lotion I've been slathering all over myself nightly for months now and Googled it only to find that squalane and squalene are the same thing, squalane is I guess just a more stable form. Am I putting my own and my unborn baby's health in jeopardy by using this product? Or is there a difference between using it topically and inter-muscularly as far as detrimental effects?

[Jelinifer]

It could be the difference between an animal or vegetable based source or a synthetic form. Squalene can be made from an oil found in shark liver and can also be made from olive oil, wheat germ oil, rice bran oil, etc. This source:

http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/to...nd_answers/en/

leans towards the adjuvant (and what the Gulf War hypothesis is based on) being made out of the fish-based stuff. I'm thinking that the Nature's Gate stuff is veg. based because it's marketed as cruelty free (I'm vegan and I use alot of NG products.) Whether the animal and vegetable sources have the same effect on us as humans, I'm not sure... hopefully someone with a chemistry background can chime in.

[Mom2M]

Here is an interesting article with some info on each.
http://portalmarket.com/shark.html
If your product is labeled vegan, it certainly should be derived from olives.
However, both squalene and squalane can be derived from either olives or shark liver.
Very neat chemical compounds either way!

Deb