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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.

We examined the effects single and combined administration of fermented barley extract P (FBEP), prepared from barley-shochu distillery by-products, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the development of atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice. Single administration of FBEP and GABA dose-dependently reduced the development of AD-like skin lesions in mice. GABA reduced the development of AD-like skin lesions by suppressing serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and splenocyte interleukin (IL)-4 production, while FBEP reduced skin lesions without affecting the IgE or cytokine production. However, in mice with induced AD-like skin lesions, combined administration of FBEP and GABA decreased serum IgE levels and splenic cell IL-4 production, and increased splenic cell interferon-gamma production. These results suggest that combined administration of FBEP and GABA alleviated AD-like skin lesions in the NC/Nga mice by adjusting the Th1/Th2 balance to a Th1-predominant immune response.