417Stereospeelfic analysis of fish oil triacyl-sn-glycerols was carried out by novel high-performance liquid chromatography on a ehiral stationary phase. The positional distributions of fatty adds were determined without accumulation of errors in a particular position and preferential hydrolysis for a partieular fatty acid. High-resolution gas-liquid chr~ matography on an open tubular column detailed the distribution of unsaturated fatty add isomers having olefinic bonds in different positions. The distribution of fatty acids was not independent of other fatty acids. The distribution of long~ln highly unsaturated fatty acids 22:6(n-3), 22:5(n~3) and 20:5(n~3) was governed by total amounts of 20:1 and 22:1 in triacyl-sn-glycerols. Long

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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. Reversedphase 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.Key words atopic dermatitis; hot spring water; fatty acid; NCN24 mouse; skin surface lipid; fluorescence detection Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease that has both genetic and environmental factors in its etiology.1) It is well known that lipids, fatty acids (FAs) and their metabolites play an important role in the control of inflammation in AD.2) There are many reports on the relation between FA composition and inflammation. For example, an abnormal n-6 FA composition in cheek mucosal cells of children with AD 3) and an elevation of serum linoleic acid (18 : 2n-6) level in children with AD compared with that in non-AD children 4) have been observed in studies on AD and lipid metabolism. It has also been observed that arachidonic acid (20 : 4n-6) significantly accumulated in blood cells of NC/Nga mice (an AD animal model) with AD. 2)Using NC/Nga mice, 5,6) we had previously investigated methods for assessing balneotherapy effects on pathogenesis of AD, in which the dermatitis score was used as an index to evaluate inflammation. 7,8) Comprehensive analysis of gene expression in NC/Nga mice with AD revealed significant changes in expression of several genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, such as acetyl CoA carboxylase.8) To our knowledge, however, there have been no reports on FA composition of the skin surface lipids that play an important role in moisturizing and the skin barrier system in AD mouse models. This may be due to difficulty in lipid extraction from mice with hair such as NC/Nga mice.In the present study, we investigated the influence of spring water on the FA composition of skin surface lipids by using a hairless AD mouse model, NCN24 mice (transgenic mice) 9) and reversed-phase HPLC with fluorescence detection (HPLC/ FD).10,11) The spring water examined was available from Toyotomi hot spring (Hokkaido, Japan) that is famous for being effective against AD and psoriasis, and many people from across the country has visited the watering for cure. 12) One of the features of the spring is to include petroleum-containing hot spring water that is rare in Japan. Although there is not enough scientific evide...

The springs of brownish-colored water called "moor hot springs" are force-pumped to the surface in various regions in Hokkaido, northern Japan. The color is due to the presence of dissolved organic matter, mainly humus, in water. The carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents of the dissolved organic matter and humus were determined for the brownish-colored spring waters collected from seven regions in Hokkaido. The DOC, DON, and DOP concentrations ranged from 0.31-6.2 mmol L-1 , 0.004-0.80 mmol L-1 , and 0.001-0.060 mmol L-1 , respectively. Humus was extracted as hydrophobic acid using Supelite DAX-8 resin. The concentrations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the hydrophobic acid ranged from 0.15-3.5 mmol L-1 , 0.004-0.24 mmol L-1 , and 0.001-0.021 mmol L-1 , respectively. The concentrations of hydrophobic acid carbon were higher than those of hydrophilic acid carbon at the six sites. This implied that hydrophobic acid was main component of dissolved organic matter in most springs. Compared to the surface waters, DOC concentrations showed a wider range and the proportions of hydrophobic acid carbon to DOC also showed a wider range. These findings suggest that DOC and hydrophobic acid concentrations have remarkable variation among brownish springs in Hokkaido. In addition, the C:N and C:P ratios of hydrophobic acid were distributed across a wider range than those of the surface waters. High C:N ratios in DOM and hydrophobic acid were found at sites where well depth was shallowest. Spring water from deeper layers had a longer retention time in the ground. This suggested that for shallow springs, hydrophobic acid was solubilized from the source of DOM, such as peat, recently. Spring water at one site had remarkably high C:P and N:P ratios in DOM and hydrophobic acid. Detection of dissolved inorganic phosphorus indicates that mineralization was activated from organic to inorganic phosphorus. The C:N:P ratios in DOM and hydrophobic acid varied among the sites, suggesting that this ratio may be used as an index to provide a unique profile for each of the brownish-colored springs.