抄録
Generations of Japanese have appreciated the positive effects that sake can have on skin conditions, and studies have shown that concentrated sake suppressed the epidermal barrier disruption caused by ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation. We investigated the effect of a topical application of a sake concentrate on the murine epidermis and found that the intercellular lipid content in an aged epidermis was significantly increased. Furthermore, the topical application of ethyl α-D-glucoside (α-EG), a component of sake, brought about a similar improvement in the levels of intercellular lipids. Following on from this, we confirmed that α-EG also significantly increased the content of loricrin protein, an indicator of successful corneocyte differentiation, while reducing the number of corneocyte layers in the aged stratum corneum. These results confirmed α-EG as the primary active component of the sake concentrate that had a positive effect on the epidermis. α-EG increased the intercellular lipid content, accelerated the differentiation of corneocytes, and reduced the thickness, thus improving the functions of the stratum corneum.
