Process of producing ergosterol and cerebrin

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF OBTAINING ERGOSTEROL FROM LIPIDCONTAINING RAW MATERIALS CONTAINING THE SAME, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF EXTRACTING SAID ERGOSTEROL ALONG WITH AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID LIPIDS FROM SAID RAW MATERIALS BY CONTACT THEREOF WITH AT LEAST ONE LOWER ALCOHOL AS SOLVENT THEREFOR FOR A TIME SUFFICIENT TO FORM AN EXTRACT THEREOF; TREATING THE THUS FORMED EXTRACT IN A BOILING AQUEOUS-ALCOHOLIC SOLUTION OF SAID EXTRACTED ERGOSTEROL AND LIPIDS WITH ALKALI FOR A TIME SUFFICIENT TO SAPONIFY SAID LIPIDS, THEREBY FORMING IN SAID BOILING AQUEOUSALCOHOLIC SOLUTION FATTY ACID SALTS; COOLING SAID AQUEOUS ALCOHOLIC SOLUTION TO A SUFFICIENTLY LOW TEMPERATURE TO PRECIPITATE AND ERGOSTEROL FROM SAID SOLUTION, SAID TEMPERATURE BEING SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO CAUSE SAID FATTY ACID SALTS TO REMAIN IN SOLUTION DUE TO THE SOLUBILITY OF THE SAME THEREIN AT TEMPERATURES AT WHICH SAID ERGOSTEROL IS NO LONGER SOLUBLE; AND RECOVERING SAID THUS PRECIPITATED ERGOSTEROL, WHEREBY SAID ERGOSTEROL MAY BE RECOVERED FROM SAID LIPID-CONTAINING RAW MATERIAL IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TREATMENT TIME AND IN RELATIVELY HIGH YIELD.