Influence of Hot Spring Water on Fatty Acid Composition of Skin Surface Lipids in Hairless Mouse Model of Atopic...

When hairless NCN24 mice with atopic dermatitis (AD) were sprayed with a petroleum-containing alkaline salt spring water rich in metaboric acid and sodium bicarbonate, AD symptoms diminished. Reversed-phase HPLC with fluorescence detection (HPLC/FD) and online MS revealed that fatty acid (FA) composition of the skin surface lipids was similar to that in non-AD mice compared with that in AD mice. Strong negative correlations were noted between the levels of total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and palmitoleic acid and between the levels of total serum IgE and branched-hexadecanoic acid. Conversely, a strong positive correlation was noted between the levels of total serum IgE and linoleic acid. The present study demonstrates that the petroleum-containing spring water alters the FA composition of skin surface lipids in AD mice, which can be used as an index to evaluate inflammation.