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Squalene Chemistry and Biology

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Lipids and Skin Health

Abstract

Human sebum is renowned as a unique mixture of lipids. Although the complexity of human sebum composition is suggestive of the multiplicity of sebum functions, squalene deserves a special focus due to its extraordinary abundance on human skin. Noteworthy, squalene is the main standalone and unsaponifiable component in sebum. The majority of sebaceous lipid components are members of lipid families, such as fatty acids (FA), triglycerides (TG), wax esters (WE), and cholesterol esters (CE). In particular, TG together with free FA account for the 40–60 % of the sebum weight, followed by WE (19–26 %), and squalene (10–15 %). Although minimal amounts of cholesterol are measurable in sebum, its exact origin is still unclear.

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Abbreviations

CE:

Cholesterol esters

FA:

Fatty acids

SG:

Sebaceous gland

SSL:

Skin surface lipids

TG:

Triglycerides

WE:

Wax esters

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support received by the Italian Ministry of Health through the grant RF-2010-2316435.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cutaneous Physiopathology and Integrated Center of Metabolomics Research, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, IRCCS, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144, Rome, Italy

    Emanuela Camera, Monica Ottaviani & Mauro Picardo

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  1. Emanuela Camera
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  2. Monica Ottaviani
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  3. Mauro Picardo
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Correspondence to Emanuela Camera .

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  1. Johnson & Johnson, Skillman, New Jersey, USA

    Apostolos Pappas

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Camera, E., Ottaviani, M., Picardo, M. (2015). Squalene Chemistry and Biology. In: Pappas, A. (eds) Lipids and Skin Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09943-9_12

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