Production of Rare Phyto-Ceramides from Abundant Food Plant Residues

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 65; no. 8; pp. 1507 - 1517
• Main Authors: Reisberg, Mathias, Arnold, Norbert, Porzel, Andrea, Neubert, Reinhard H. H, Dräger, Birgit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 01.03.2017
• Subjects: Ceramides - chemistry; Ceramides - isolation & purification; Coffea - chemistry; Food Analysis; Malus - chemistry; Molecular Structure; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Triticum - chemistry; Waste Products - analysis; coffee grounds; apple pomace; ceramide; Coffea sp; glucosylceramide; Malus domestica; Triticum sp; glucocerebrosidase; wheat germs
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b04275

Ceramides (Cers) are major components of the outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum, and play a crucial role in permeability barrier functions. Alterations in Cer composition causing skin diseases are compensated with semisynthetic skin-identical Cers. Plants constitute new resources for Cer production as they contain glucosylceramides (GluCers) as major components. GluCers were purified from industrial waste plant materials, apple pomace (Malus domestica), wheat germs (Triticum sp.), and coffee grounds (Coffea sp.), with GluCer contents of 28.9 mg, 33.7 mg, and 4.4 mg per 100 g of plant material. Forty-five species of GluCers (1–45) were identified with different sphingoid bases, saturated or monounsaturated α-hydroxy fatty acids (C15–28), and β-glucose as polar headgroup. Three main GluCers were hydrolyzed by a recombinant human glucocerebrosidase to produce phyto-Cers (46–48). These studies showed that rare and expensive phyto-Cers can be obtained from industrial food plant residues.