Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by pruritic and eczematous skin lesions. The skin of AD patients is generally in a dried condition. Therefore, it is important for AD patients to manage skin moisturization. In this study, we examined the effects of orally administered fermented barley extract P (FBEP), which is prepared from a supernatant of barley shochu distillery by-product, on stratum corneum (SC) hydration and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) in AD-like lesions induced in hairless mice using 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene. Oral administration of FBEP increased SC hydration and decreased TEWL in the dorsal skin of this mouse model. Further fractionation of FBEP showed that a pyroglutamyl pentapeptide, pEQPFP comprising all -L-form amino acids, is responsible for these activities. These results suggested that this pyroglutamyl pentapeptide may serve as a modality for the treatment of AD.

特应性皮炎（AD）是一种慢性炎症性皮肤病，其特征是瘙痒和湿疹性皮肤病变。AD患者的皮肤通常处于干燥状态。因此，对于AD患者来说，管理皮肤保湿很重要。在这项研究中，我们研究了从大麦烧酒的上清液中制备的口服大麦发酵提取物P（FBEP）的效果。酒糟副产物，对无毛小鼠使用2,4,6-三硝基氯苯诱导的AD样病变中的角质层（SC）水化和表皮水分流失（TEWL）。FBEP的口服给药增加了该小鼠模型背部皮肤中的水合作用并降低了TEWL。FBEP的进一步分馏表明，包含所有-L型氨基酸的焦谷氨酰五肽pEQPFP负责这些活性。这些结果表明该焦谷氨酰五肽可作为治疗AD的一种方式。