Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Non-Polar Lipid Components of Human Cerumen

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

Human cerumen was separated by column chromatography into the following groups of compounds: hydrocarbons, squalene, wax esters and cholesterol esters, triacylglycerols, free fatty acids, free fatty alcohols, monoacylglycerols, free cholesterol, free sterols, and free hydroxy acids. The groups of compounds obtained were examined in detail by gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. In total, about one thousand compounds have been identified.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ACL:

Alcohol chain length

APCI:

Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization

CC:

Column chromatography

DMDS:

Dimethyl disulfide

ECL:

Equivalent chain length

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl ester

GC–MS:

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

HPLC:

High performance liquid chromatography

I:

Kováts index

PTLC:

Preparative thin layer chromatography

R F :

Retention factor

TAG:

Triacylglycerol(s)

TLC:

Thin layer chromatography

UV:

Ultra violet

References

  1. Bortz JT, Wertz PW, Downing DT (1990) Composition of cerumen lipids. J Am Acad Dermatol 23:845–849

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hawke M (2002) Update on cerumen and ceruminolytics. ENT-Ear Nose Throat J Suppl, pp 4 (www.entjournal.com/html/article_11_0208.html)

  3. Nakashima S (1933) The chemical composition of cerumen. Z Physiol Chem 216:105–109

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Chiang SP, Lowry OH, Senturia BH (1957) Micro-chemical studies on normal cerumen, II. The percentage of lipid and protein in casual and fresh cerumen. J Invest Dermatol 28:63–68

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Schenkels LCPM, Rathman WM, Veerman ECI, Amerongen AVN (1991) Detection of proteins related to a salivary glycoprotein (EP/GP): concentrations in human secretions (saliva, sweat, tears, nasal mucus, cerumen, seminal plasma). Biol Chem Hoppe-Seyler 372:325–329

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Schwaab M, Hansen S, Gurr A, Schwaab T, Minovi A, Sudhoff H, Dazert S (2009) Protein isolation from ear wax made easy. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 266:1699–1702

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Chiang SP, Lowry OH, Senturia BH (1955) Microchemical studies on normal cerumen. I. The lipid and protein content of normal cerumen as affected by age and sex. Laryngoscope 65:927–934

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Ueda S, Kataura A, Matsunaga E (1962) Chemical composition of human normal cerumen. I. Preliminary studies on solvent fractionation of dry and wet cerumen. Sapporo Igaku Zashi 22:1–4 Chem Abstr (1965) 62:9535

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Burkhart CN, Burkhart CG, Williams S, Andrews PC, Adappa V, Arbogast J (2000) In pursuit of ceruminolytic agents: a study of earwax composition. Am J Otol 21:157–160

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Suzuki M, Suzuki A, Yamakawa T, Matsunaga E (1985) Characterization of 2,7-anhydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid in human wet cerumen. J Biochem (Tokyo) 97:509–515

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bailnatova GD, Khasanov SA, Babadzhanova SY, Popova IA (1989) Detecting disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism in obese children by determination of glucose in earwax. Med Zh Uzb 1989:36–37 Chem. Abstr. (1989) 111:228238

    Google Scholar 

  12. Masuda H, Shichijo S, Goya T, Takeuchi M (1978) Isolation and partial characterization of glycopeptide from cerumen. Kurume Med J 25:203–205 Chem Abstr (1979) 90:50010

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Shichijo S, Masuda H, Takeuchi M (1979) Carbohydrate composition of glycopeptides from the human cerumen. Biochem Med 22:256–263

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Masuda H, Shichijo S, Takeuchi M (1979) Glycopeptide from cerumen. Seibutsu Butsuri Kagaku 22:267–271 Chem Abstr (1979) 91:85800

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. de Jorge FB, de Ulhoa AB, Cintra LJ, Paiva LJ, Correa AP, Nova R (1964) The chemistry of the cerumen: ash, volatile substances, Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, and Cu. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 73:218–221 Chem Abstr (1964) 61:9846

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Hamsík A, Šantavý F (1962) Biochemie. Státní zdravotnické nakladatelství Praha, p 372

  17. Nakamichi K (1925) The occurrence of fatty substances in the human ear. Japan J Med Sci 2:141–142 Chem Abstr 20:1656

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Nitta H, Ikai K (1953) Body odor. I. Separation of the lower fatty acids of cutaneous excretion by paper chromatography. Nagoya Med J 1:217–224 Chem Abstr (1954) 48:6531

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Wheatley VR (1953) Studies of sebum. IV. Estimation of squalene in sebum and sebum-like materials. Biochem J 55:637–640

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Wheatley VR (1954) Studies of sebum. 5. The composition of some sebum like materials of human origin. Biochem J 58:167–172

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Akobjanoff L, Carruthers C, Senturia BH (1954) The chemistry of cerumen: a preliminary report. J Invest Dermatol 23:43–50

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Haahti E, Nikkari T, Koskinen O (1960) Fatty acids composition of human cerumen (earwax). Scand J Clin Lab Invest 12:249–250

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Haahti E, Horning EC, Castren O (1962) Microanalysis of sebum and sebum like materials by temperature-programmed gas chromatography. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 14:368–372

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Kataura K (1965) Chemical composition of human normal cerumen. IV. Separation of the lipid fraction by silicic acid column. Sapporo Igaku Zasshi 28:315–319 Chem Abstr (1968) 69:94222

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Kataura A, Kataura K (1967) The comparison of lipids between dry and wet types of cerumen. Tohoku J Exp Med 91:227–237 Chem Abstr (1967) 67:1289

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Aitzetmüller K, Koch J (1978) Liquid chromatographic analysis of sebum lipids and other lipids of medical interest. J Chromatogr 145:195–202

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Gersbein LL, Broder AI, Sheladia K (1980) Lipids of cerumen from elderly human adults. J Appl Biochem 2:489–494

    Google Scholar 

  28. Inaba M, Chung TH, Kim JC, Choi YC, Kim JH (1987) Lipid composition of ear wax in hircismus. Yonsei Med J 28:49–51 J Am Acad Dermatol (1990) 23:845–849

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Bortz JT, Wertz PW, Downing DT (1989) The origin of alkanes found in human skin surface lipids. J Invest Dermatol 93:723–727

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Harvey DJ (1989) Identification of long-chain fatty acids and alcohols from human cerumen by the use of picolinyl and nicotinate esters. Biomed Environ Mass Spectrom 18:719–723

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Robosky LC, Wade K, Woolson D, Baker JD, Manning ML, Gage DA, Reily MD (2008) Quantitative evaluation of sebum lipid components with nuclear magnetic resonance. J Lipid Res 49:686–692

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Burkhart CN, Kruge MA, Burkhart CG, Black C (2001) Cerumen composition by flash pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Otol Neurotol 22:715–722

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Taishin VA, Rudneva NA, Mikhailova LA (1985) Fat content in cow’s cerumen in relation to the fat content in milk. S—kh Biol 1985:25–26 Chem Abstr (1986) 104:49258

    Google Scholar 

  34. Huang HP, Fixter LM, Little CJL (1994) Lipid-content of cerumen from normal dogs and otitic canine ears. Vet Rec 134:380–381

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Huang HP, Fixter LM, Little CJL (1995) Canine cerumen faty acid composition. Guoli Taiwan Daxue Nongxueyuan Yanjiu Baogao 35:375–392 Chem Abstr (1996) 125:54215

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Masuda A, Sukegawa T, Mizumoto N, Tani H, Miyamoto T, Sasai K, Baba E (2000) Study of lipid in the ear canal in canine otitis externa with Malassezia pachydermatis. J Vet Med Sci 62:1177–1182 Chem Abstr (2000) 134:308887

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Yasui T, Tsukise A, Habata I, Nara T, Meyer W (2004) Histochemistry of complex carbohydrates in the ceruminous glands of the goat. Arch Dermatol Res 296:12–20

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Campos A, Arias A, Betancor L, Rodriguez C, Hernandez AM, Aquado DL, Sierra A (1998) Study of common aerobic flora of human cerumen. J Laryngol Otol 112:613–616

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Burkhart CN, Arbogast J, Gunning WT, Adappa V, Burkhart CG (2000) Aspergillus flavus isolated in cerumen by scanning electron microscopy. Infect Med 17:624–626

    Google Scholar 

  40. Stroman DW, Roland PS, Dohar J, Burt W (2001) Microbiology of normal external auditory canal. Laryngoscope 111:2054–2059

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Chai TJ, Chai TC (1980) Bactericidal activity of cerumen. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 18:638–641 Chem Abstr (1980) 93:231610

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Stone M, Fulghum RS (1984) Bactericidal activity of wet cerumen. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 93:183–186

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Jankowski A, Kapusta E, Nowacka B (1992) Concerning the bacteriostatic or bactericidal function of the secretion of ceruminous glands. Otolaryngol Pol 46:557–560

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Dibb WL (1993) The microbial etiology of otitis-externa—a review. Saudi Med J 14:181–185

    Google Scholar 

  45. Sokolov VE, Ushakova NA, Chernova OF, Shubkina AV, Alimharova LM, Barinskii IF (1995) On antiinfectional properties of cerumen in mammals. Izv Akad Nauk Ser Biol 1995:579–585

    Google Scholar 

  46. Campos A, Betancor L, Arias A, Rodriguez C, Hernandez AM, Aguado DL, Sierra A (1999) The influence of human wet cerumen on Candida albicans growth. J Mycol Med 9:36–38

    Google Scholar 

  47. Campos A, Betancor L, Arias A, Rodríguez C, Hernández AM, Aguado DL, Sierra A (2000) The influence of human wet cerumen on the growth of common and pathogenic bacteria of the ear. J Laryngol Otol 114:925–929

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Pata YS, Ozturk C, Akbas Y, Gorur K, Unal M, Ozcan C (2003) Has cerumen a protective role in recurrent external otitis? Am J Otolaryngol 24:209–212

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Cvačka J, Hovorka O, Jiroš P, Kindl J, Stránský K, Valterová I (2006) Analysis of triacylglycerols in fat body of bumblebees by chromatographic methods. J Chromatogr A 1101:226–237

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Cvačka J, Krafková E, Jiroš P, Valterová I (2006) Computer-assisted interpretation of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectra of triacylglycerols. Rapid Commun Mass Spetrom 20:3586–3594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Stránský K, Jursík T (1996) Simple quantitative transesterification of lipids. 1. Introduction. Fett/Lipid 98:65–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Stránský K, Jursík T (1996) Simple quantitative transesterification of lipids. 2. Applications. Fett/Lipid 98:71–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Stránský K, Jursík T, Vítek A, Skořepa J (1992) An improved method of characterizing fatty acids by Equivalent Chain Length values. J High Resolut Chromatogr 15:730–740

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Stránský K, Jursík T, Vítek A (1997) Standard Equivalent Chain Length values of monoenic and polyenic (methylene interrupted) fatty acids. J High Resolut Chromatogr 20:143–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Sun KK, Holman RT (1968) Mass spectrometry of lipid molecules. J Am Oil Chem Soc 45:810–817

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Aasen AJ, Hofstetter HH, Iyengar BTR, Holman RT (1971) Identification and analysis of wax esters by mass spectrometry. Lipids 6:502–507

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Stránský K, Zarevúcka M, Valterová I, Wimmer Z (2006) Gas chromatographic retention data of wax esters. J Chromatogr A 1128:208–219

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Dunkelblum E, Tan SH, Silk PJ (1985) Double-bond location in monounsaturated fatty acids by dimethyl disulfide derivatization and mass spectrometry: application to analysis of fatty acids in pheromone glands of four lepidoptera. J Chem Ecol 11:265–277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Christie WW (1997) Dimethyl disulphide derivatives in fatty acid analysis. Lipid Technol 1997:17–19

    Google Scholar 

  60. Leonhardt BA, DeVilbiss ED (1985) Separation and double bond determination on nanogram quantities of aliphatic monounsaturated alcohols, aldehydes and carboxylic acid methyl esters. J Chromatogr 322:484–490

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Czech Science Foundation (grant No. 502/10/1734), and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (grants Nos. 2B06024, 2B06007, and OC10001 and research program MSM6046137305) for the financial support. The authors also thank Ms. Helena Ernyeiová and Ms. Anna Nekolová for their skillful technical assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR, v.v.i., Flemingovo náměstí 2, 16610, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    Karel Stránský, Irena Valterová, Edita Kofroňová, Klára Urbanová & Marie Zarevúcka

  2. Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, Technická 5, 16628, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    Edita Kofroňová & Zdeněk Wimmer

  3. Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, v.v.i., Isotope Laboratory, Vídeňská 1083, 14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic

    Zdeněk Wimmer

Authors
  1. Karel Stránský
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Irena Valterová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Edita Kofroňová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Klára Urbanová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marie Zarevúcka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zdeněk Wimmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zdeněk Wimmer.

Electronic supplementary material

We have very large amounts of experimental data, and all of them cannot be placed in the text of the paper. We therefore decided to make the supplements available on the web page of the journal, where they can be found.. The data summarize the composition of cerumen, and the lists of fatty acid derivatives found in the cerumen (Tables S1–S8), and the chromatograms of the selected compounds (Fig. S1–S2). Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 42 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (PDF 34 kb)

Supplementary material 3 (DOC 662 kb)

About this article

Cite this article

Stránský, K., Valterová, I., Kofroňová, E. et al. Non-Polar Lipid Components of Human Cerumen. Lipids 46, 781–788 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-011-3564-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-011-3564-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation