Gas chromatographic study of fatty acid composition of human skin surface film lipid.

in detail by many investigators.'-6> The difference in the amount of secreted surface lipid by sex and by age was also reported repeatedly.7-17) The difference of fatty acid composition of human skin surface film lipid by sex and by age was first examined by Boughton and Wheatley 41 According to these investigators, the skin surface lipids from the same subject varied little from time to time, and there were definite in dividual characteristics in composition ; slight but not significant differences between men and women were observed ; children had less unsaturated C16 acid and more of all three types of C16 acids than adults. The regional differences of the fatty acid composition of the skin surface lipid were also examined by the same investigators. The total fatty acid composition of the skin surface fat, and of the scale in health and disease in Japanese people was first reported by Nakamura.18) On the difference of fatty acid composition between the normal male and female, he noted that over twice the linoleic acid percentage was found in the female over the male, and also higher monounsaturated C16, C17 and C18 acids in the female. The present paper also reports changes in the total fatty acid composition of surface lipid according to sex, age and parts of the body in the Japanese people.