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melanin
melanin
The Oxford Companion to the Body
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2001
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© The Oxford Companion to the Body 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information)
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melanin a brown pigment in the
skin and elsewhere. It is made in
melanocytes, which are cells in the deepest layer of the epidermis, and these distribute granules of pigment to the other skin cells. Synthesis is stimulated by sunlight, and also by a hormone from the anterior
pituitary gland. This is the pigment in simple moles and freckles, and in the areolar of the nipples; melanocytes are the cells which become cancerous in a
malignant melanoma. Other sites are in
hair, behind the retina of the
eye, and in part of the
adrenal gland.
S. J.
See
pigmentation;
skin.
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Melanin offers protection against induction of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and 6-4 photoproducts by UVB in cultured human melanocytes
Magazine article from: Photochemistry and Photobiology; 9/1/2001; ; 700+ words
; Melanin Offers Protection Against Induction of...this investigation was to correlate the melanin content in human pigmentary cells with...to examine the relationship between the melanin content and the removal of the photoproducts...
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Methodology for Evaluation of Melanin Content and Production of Pigment Cells in Vitro[dagger]
Magazine article from: Photochemistry and Photobiology; 5/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; ABSTRACT Melanin has a photo-screening, a biophysical/biochemical and a cosmetic effect. Melanin content of cultured pigmented cells can be...spectrophotometry and expressed either as melanin content per cell or melanin content per culture...
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Herbal melanin modulates tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-[alpha]), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production.
Magazine article from: Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy & Phytopharmacology; 5/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; ...Hassib, 1998). Melanin is a pigment that causes...little understanding of melanin morphology, structure...Tian et al., 2003). Melanins are divided into three...Most of the plant melanins have not yet been given...recent findings that melanin, from a number of botanical...
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Structural studies bleached melanin by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering
Magazine article from: Photochemistry and Photobiology; 2/1/2003; ; 700+ words
; ...that this structure is the actual melanin "protomolecule" or fundamental...determine the sizes of unbleached melanins derived from precursors of various...of aggregation of the unbleached melanin or to determine the size and shape...
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Antioxidant Properties of Melanin in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells
Magazine article from: Photochemistry and Photobiology; 3/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; ...eumelanin and a possible antioxidant role of melanin is reported here. The photooxidation of...and absence of either calf or human RPE melanin in A2E-laden RPE cells. It was found that calf melanin was protective against the photooxidation...
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Femtosecond two-photon excited fluorescence of melanin
Magazine article from: Photochemistry and Photobiology; 8/1/1999; ; 700+ words
; ...final products of melanin biosynthesis, which...property of the melanins is their absorption...photoprotective action of melanin against skin cancer...ability of excited melanins to generate free...the other hand, melanins may act as free...sunlight absorption, melanin has been ...
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A shift in thinking: Melanin makes skin vulnerable
Magazine article from: Dermatology Times; 2/1/2005; ; 700+ words
; ...recently eported, in a study of mice, that melanin is a photosensitizer, as well as a photo protector. And the melanin in blondes and redheads might magnify...Academy of Sciences that UV-irradiated melanin photosensitizes adjacent cells to apoptosis...
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Unraveling the Mystery of Melanin.(scientists searching to determine what role melanin actually plays in the skin)
Magazine article from: Science News; 9/18/1999; ; 700+ words
; ...a decade ago, test-tube studies on melanin, the modified protein that darkens skin...the dark protein. They indicated that melanin can itself play a role in certain chemical...Chemists are now trying to determine what melanin actually does in the skin. Although most...
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Inhibit melanin: your fungal problems are over. (fighting crop-damaging fungi)
Magazine article from: Agricultural Research; 9/1/1991; ; 700+ words
; Inhibit Melanin: Your Fungal Problems Are Over The secret...s punch is a natural compound called melanin - the same compound that gives fungi their...penetrate plant tissue. In certain fungi, melanin must first accumulate in the cell wall...
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Binding of Metal Ions to Melanin and Their Effects on the Aerobic Reactivity¶
Magazine article from: Photochemistry and Photobiology; 11/1/2004; ; 700+ words
; ...body (1). Natural melanins contain various metal...of the functions of melanin is to trap excess metal...acid (EDTA)-washed melanin was prepared as described...Fe(III)-enriched melanins were prepared as follows. EDTA-washed Sepia melanin particles were stirred...
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melanin
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
melanin , water-insoluble polymer of various...contributes yellow coloring. The synthesis of melanin reactions is catalyzed by the enzyme tyrosinase...cell, the melanocyte, and in this cell melanin is found in membrane-bound bodies called...
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Albinism
Encyclopedia entry from: The Gale Encyclopedia of Science
...Albinism is a recessive inherited defect in melanin metabolism in which pigment is absent...just from the eyes (ocular albinism). Melanin is a dark biological pigment that is formed...darkens or tans due to an increase in melanin. Tanning helps protect the underlying...
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Skin Pigmentation Disorders
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed.
...produces either too much or too little melanin, a pigment that creates hair, skin, and eye color. Melanin protects the body by absorbing ultraviolet...means the body does not produces enough melanin. Albinism, for example, is an inherited...
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pigmentation
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Body
...the body is due to different forms of melanin , the name for a group of closely related...tyrosine . The most widespread type of melanin is responsible for skin colour ; the melanocytes...hair colour are due to different types of melanin. As well as the visible sites, there...
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Hair Dyes and Hair Treatments
Book article from: Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
...Hair Color and Its Control Melanin granules are secreted by melanocytes...studies. Two main forms of melanin exist in human skin —...a balance between these two melanins. Albino or white-haired...changes in hair papillae. Hair melanin absorbs insufficient ultraviolet...
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