Skin-beautifying ingredients in sake
"α-EG"
Expected effects of α-EG
- Drinking this product will increase your skin's collagen density
- Moisturizing and rough skin improvement when applied
"Improved firmness and elasticity" - "Cell activation" of skin cells
"Promotes collagen production"
Sake has been used as a beauty serum since ancient times and its beauty benefits have been passed down through the generations. Ozeki has focused on α-EG as the main component responsible for its beauty benefits, and in cooperation with external companies and universities, has confirmed its effects in external and cosmetic applications, such as moisturizing, increasing firmness and elasticity, improving rough skin, activating skin cells, and promoting collagen production.
In recent years, it has been reported that the collagen density of the skin can be increased by continuously drinking pure rice wine with a high content of α-EG or its extract, and this has attracted attention.
Drinking pure rice wine extract with a high content of α-EG increases skin collagen density
In 2017, Professor Ozeki and others from Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Pure rice sake with a high content of α-EG,
By drinking the extract continuously,
It has been shown to increase collagen density in the skin.
The same phenomenon has been confirmed in Ozeki.
Further research is underway.
In recent years, by continuously drinking pure rice wine extract,
It has been reported to increase collagen density in the skin.
In Ozeki, we demonstrated that the above effects are due to α-EG.
- Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Faculty of Bioscience and Chemistry
Professor Ozeki, Department of Applied Biology - He has been involved in research into α-EG for many years since his days as an ozeki. In 2017, he discovered that drinking pure rice wine (extract) with a high content of α-EG increases skin collagen density.
The mechanism that keeps your skin beautiful
Collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid play important roles in maintaining the moisture, firmness, and elasticity of the dermis layer.
When these decrease, it can cause skin problems such as wrinkles and sagging skin.
Ozeki has confirmed that α-EG is involved in "activating fibroblasts," "promoting collagen production and inhibiting collagen degradation," and "elastin production."
α-EG activates skin cells!
Tests were conducted on fibroblasts, a type of dermal cell that produces collagen and other substances extracellularly. α-EG was added to a culture medium for human fibroblasts, and the cell count was checked after three days. The cells with α-EG showed up to 20% more proliferation than those without. This confirmed that α-EG activates fibroblasts.
α-EG promotes collagen production in skin cells!
Furthermore, the collagen concentration in the culture medium of fibroblasts was examined. When the concentration of type I collagen, which accounts for 70-80% of skin collagen, was checked, the collagen concentration in the culture medium with the addition of α-EG increased by up to 20% compared to the unadded medium. This confirmed that α-EG has the effect of promoting collagen production.
Discovered that applying sake extract with a high content of α-EG has a moisturizing effect on the skin
A sheet soaked in sake (high α-EG content 2.5%) was applied to the inside of the upper arm for two minutes and then removed, and 120 minutes later the moisture content of the stratum corneum on the surface of the skin was measured with a skin moisture meter.Compared to the moisture content before treatment and purified water, sake increased the skin's moisture content, confirming its moisturizing effect.
α-EG production mechanism
α-EG is produced by koji-derived enzymes in the presence of ethanol and oligosaccharides. It is a component unique to sake, where saccharification and alcoholic fermentation occur simultaneously in a process known as "parallel multiple fermentation." Commercially available pure rice sake contains around 0.6-0.8% α-EG, making it the third most abundant substance in sake after alcohol and glucose.
Based on detailed analysis of the changes in sugars and ethanol over time during fermentation and the α-EG production process, Ozeki has succeeded in developing a sake with a high α-EG content that produces a "dry, umami-rich" sake. Furthermore, by utilizing this production mechanism, they have also succeeded in developing a high-purity industrial production method for α-EG.
