Detection and semi-quantitative analysis of sphingolipids contained in shochu distillery waste

• Published in: JOURNAL OF THE BREWING SOCIETY OF JAPAN Vol. 106; no. 12; pp. 848 - 853
• Main Authors: HIRATA, Miyo, URANO, Yoshitaka, INABA, Shigeki, KITATANI, Kazuyuki, OKAZAKI, Toshiro, KITAGAKI, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brewing Society of Japan 2011
• ISSN: 0914-7314; 2186-4012
• DOI: 10.6013/jbrewsocjapan.106.848

Utilization of the distillery waste of shochu, a Japanese distilled alcohol beverage, is of significant concern in Japan, since an enormous amount of distillery waste is produced during the manufacturing of shochu. On the contrary, sphingolipids are key substances for augmenting the moisture effect of cosmetics and preventing of cancers by oral intake. We therefore investigated the quantity and source of sphingolipids in the distillery waste of shochu. Results by TLC analysis showed migrating spots similar to those of steryl glucoside and cerebrosides amide-linked to hydroxylated fatty acids were identified in dried samples of the shochu distillery waste. By semi-quantitative analysis, cerebrosides were contained at 2.2 mg to 3.3 mg per 1 g of the dried shochu distillery waste. By analyzing the sphingolipids contained in barley, barley fermented with Aspergillus kawachii, Aspergillus kawachii, and shochu yeast incubated in artificial media, it was confirmed that sphingolipids contained in the shochu distillery waste are mainly derived from Aspergillus kawachii. This is the first report of the detection and semi-quantitative analysis of sphingolipids in shochu distillery waste.