In 1936, Nobel Laureate Paul Karrer described the biochemical structure of squalene for the first time. This medical researcher was already famous for his account of the chemical structures of vitamins E and A. He was surprised to find that squalene had a similar structure to these two antioxidant vitamins. This may have hinted at Squalene's antioxidant characteristics.

In 1950, researchers led by McKenna found that human skin secretes very high levels of squalene. Subsequently, C.K. George and others at Rockefeller University, New York demonstrated the widespread occurence of squalene in subcutaneous and submucosal human tissue. This finding of significant squalene levels in the protective coat of the body raised significant questions on the protective role of squalene.

In 1982, R. Tilvis and his group found another pool of squalene synthesis - fat cells. And in 1989 Luca and collegues compared the squalene content of human skin to that of other primates and found it to be much greater. The sebum of gorrilas, for example, contains about 0.1% squalene, whereas human sebum contains about 12% - 120 times more