Palmitoleic Acid Isomer (C16:1Δ6) in Human Skin Sebum Is Effective against Gram-Positive Bacteria
Abstract
The percent lipid composition of pooled human sebum analyzed by thin-layer chromatography was: ceramides (13%), fatty acid (47%), cholesterol (7%), cholesterol esters (2%), squalene (11%), triglycerides (3%), and wax esters (17%). Total sebum lipids (2- 4 mg/ml), sonicated into bacterial culture medium, caused 4- to 5-fold log reduction in growth of gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus salivarius and the anaerobe Fusobacterium nucleatum, but was ineffective against most gram-negative bacteria. Fractionation of the sebum lipids showed that both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids contained the bulk of the antimicrobial activity. Lauric acid (C12:0) was the most active saturated fatty acid. The unsaturated fatty acid, palmitoleic acid (C16:1delta6, cPA) was both the most predominant monoene and the most active antimicrobial fatty acid. Purified cPA (>99%) yielded typical minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 10-20 microg/ml against gram-positive bacteria. Organically synthesized cPA isomer gave MIC values comparable to the natural material. Both natural and synthetic cPA were found to be the most active sebum lipid fraction in blocking the adherence of a pathogenic strain of Candida albicans to porcine stratum corneum. Ethanol in combination with cPA exerts a synergistic bactericidal activity against gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Propionibacterium acnes, Escherichia coli, and several methacillin-resista…
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Sapienic acid exerts strong antibacterial and antifungal activities.
“Sapienic acid exerts strong antibacterial and antifungal activities.14”
From Sebaceous-immunobiology is orchestrated by sebum lipids (2017) · cites this paper as [14]
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“Sapienic acid exerts strong antibacterial and antifungal activities.(14) Remarkably, dietary palmitic acid directly activates Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 in mouse monocytes(15) and activates both the NLRP3 inflammasome and mTORC1(16,17), however, it provides direct antibacterial activities against Propionibacterium acn…”
BackgroundMaier, H., Meixner, M., Hartmann, D., Sandhoff, R., Wang-Eckhardt, L., Zöller, I., Gieselmann, V., & Eckhardt, M. (2011) · Journal of Biological Chemistry · doi:10.1074/jbc.m111.231977 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wille, J. J., & Kydonieus, A.
- Affiliations
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (United States) (US)
- Samil Pharm (South Korea) (KR)
- Venue
- Skin Pharmacology and Physiology
- Publisher
- S. Karger AG
- Published
- 2003
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 176-187
- ISSN
- 1422-2868 (ISSN-L)
- 1660-5527
- 1660-5535
- OpenAlex
- W1981927278
- Cited by
- 243
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 7.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Skin Pharmacology and Physiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Antimicrobial agents and applications
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
- Keywords
- palmitoleic acid, sebum lipids, antimicrobial activity, Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus salivarius, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Candida albicans adhesion, stratum corneum, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, wound dressings, skin care products, fatty acids
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Anti-Infective Agents, Candida albicans, Epidermis, Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated, Chemical Fractionation, Gram-Positive Bacteria, Humans, Isomerism, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Sebum, Swine, Time Factors, In Vitro Techniques
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