Improve Eczema Skin With Sake

It's often said that master sake brewers have beautiful hands with smooth, white and youthful skin. But now it seems there may actually be some truth behind these words judging by a recent experiment by a major sake brewery.
Ozeki, based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, asked 11 of its employees to drink 270 milliliters of sake, and then measured the moisture content of their skin two hours later. The results showed that the moisture content of the skin on their arms had risen by 30 percent.
In a comparative experiment, the volunteers drank a non-sake alcoholic beverage used as a control, which turned out to produce no effect on their skin.
Many sake breweries are now developing skin care products, utilizing sake-derived substances believed to have moisturizing effects.
Among them is Yushin-Brewer, based in Ryonancho, Kagawa Prefecture.
The company produces sake-derived extracts, which it says have a beautifying effect. The extracts are made using sake brewing techniques, which make use of such microorganisms as koji mold, lactic acid bacteria and yeast. The company says it has discovered 36 active substances in these extracts that produce positive effects.
It has called one of these extracts Rice Power No. 11 and obtained approval from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry for its use as a skin moisturizer. The extract promotes the production of ceramide, a type of lipid that fills crevices in the surface layer of the skin. It also prevents dryness and irritation caused by water evaporation and keeps the skin smooth.
According to research by Tokushima University Prof. Seiji Arase, when he applied Rice Power No. 11 to the skin, the surface layer absorbed twice the normal amount of water over a two-hour period. The extract also helped the skin protect itself, potentially making it a suitable treatment for atopic dermatitis.
Yushin-Brewer has started selling lotion containing the extract, and is now working on anti-ulcer products.
Because different bacteria are used at each stage of the brewing process, sake brewers need very precise temperature management--a process that has been developed through a long process of trial and error.
Yushin-Brewer President Takashi Tokuyama says: "As sake-making shows, Japan's brewing culture is a product of wisdom accumulated over a long period of time. I'd like to use that wisdom to produce new foods and other products."