Posts Tagged ‘Ceramides’

September 23rd, 2016 by Dr. Hannah Sivak

What are ceramides? Ceramides consist of a long-chain or sphingoid base linked to a fatty acid via an amide bond. Figure: Sphingosine. Figure: ceramide, with sphingosine bound to a fatty acid via an amide. Ceramides are present at low concentration in plants and animals, so there isn’t a good source of natural ceramides for use in the industry. Extraction of a rare chemical from a plant requires laborious processes and the resulting ingredient are terribly expensive. Another source of ceramides, the central nervous system, is not suitable for epidemiological reasons. For this reason, the ceramides used in skin care are synthetic. Confusing Terminology The chemical nomenclature for ceramides is simple enough:…