The metabolism of betamethasone 17-valerate was estimated using an art
ificial living skin equivalent (LSE). Betamethasone 17-valerate, betam
ethasone 21-valerate and betamethasone were measured by a normal-phase
high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. Betamethasone
17-valerate was added to the culture medium with or without LSE homoge
nate. Degradation profiles (%) of betamethasone 17-valerate remaining
in the culture medium with skin homogenate did not differ from those w
ithout homogenate. However, the conversion of betamethasone 21-valerat
e to betamethasone was accelerated by skin homogenate, indicating that
LSE has a sufficient level of esterase.