EFFECTS OF ETHYL ALPHA-D-GLUCOSIDE ON SKIN BARRIER DISRUPTION

Daily treatments of skin in hairless mice with concentrates of rice wi ne, Japanese traditional alcohol, lowered transepidermal water loss le vels compared to the controls on the 3rd day after ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation. These findings indicate that the concentrates of rice wi ne suppress the murine skin barrier disruption caused by UVB. Ethyl al pha-D-glucoside (alpha-ethylglucoside), one of the peculiar components in rice wine, showed the same effect, whereas beta-ethylglucoside had no effect. In order to clarify the functions of alpha-ethylglucoside on murine skin, we examined the effects of this compound on the expres sion of some phenotypes in human keratinocytes in vitro. As a result, alpha-ethylglucoside as well as beta-ethylglucoside enhanced cell prol iferation weakly, and the formation of cornified envelopes and differe ntiated type keratin (K1) in keratinocytes was accelerated by alpha-et hylglucoside but not by beta-ethylglucoside. From the results, we conc luded that alpha-ethylglucoside enhanced the differentiation of kerati nocytes, which might be related to reduced barrier disruption by UVB.