Pharmacological Properties of Melanin and its Function in Health

El‐Obeid, Adila; Kamal‐Eldin, Afaf; Abdelhalim, Mohamed Anwar K; Haseeb, Abdul

doi:10.1111/bcpt.12748

Cited by 122 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(122 reference statements)

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“…In our study, the hepatic GSH-PX and SOD levels were signi cantly reduced indicating an elevation in OS, while the MDA levels were signi cantly increased. Our data were in consistent with those reported [31].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

The Beneficial Use of Melanin in Inhibiting and Treating HCC Through Preventing CBC, Liver Enzymes, Oxidative Stress, and Lipid Peroxidation Alterations

Abdelhalim

AL-Mohy

Al-Ayed

2020

Preprint

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Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for more than 90% of primary liver cancers and is a major global health problem. The present application relates to normalizing abnormal levels of hematological blood parameters, oxidative stress indicators, and liver enzyme levels in the rats using melanin, and particularly, to treating their abnormal levels, in addition to evaluate the role of melanin during and after the progression of HCC, which will be supplemented histologically. Hematological blood parameters such as white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), and platelets (PLTs); liver enzymes such as alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST); oxidative stress such as glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD); LP malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated in all groups of rats. Injection of Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and 2-Acetyaminofluorine (2-AFF) induced HCC in the rats accompanied with a significant reduction in WBCs, RBCs, HGB, HCT, and PLTs, GSH-PX, and SOD; while a significant elevation was observed in ALT and AST, and MDA compared to the control. Melanin normalized all the above mentioned parameters during and after the progression of cancer towards their control values. These results demonstrate the beneficial use of melanin as a powerful antioxidant tool in inhibiting and treating HCC in the rats.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

The Beneficial Use of Melanin in Inhibiting and Treating HCC Through Preventing CBC, Liver Enzymes, Oxidative Stress, and Lipid Peroxidation Alterations

Abdelhalim

AL-Mohy

Al-Ayed

2020

Preprint

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“…The behavior and weight of the animals, up to 30 days after the treatment, were normal and unchanged during the experiment, suggesting that SMBT are innocuous substances. Commonly, melanin‐producing organisms use the polymer as a protective mechanism against different agents such as radiation or toxic metals, and melanins have been commonly used to alleviate the toxicity of different compounds including drugs, but studies about the melanin toxicity are scarce (El‐Obeid et al, ; Solano, ), but it can be mentioned that the cytotoxicity of Aspergillus nidulans melanins, up to 100 µg/ml, was low in mouse peritoneal macrophages (Gonçalves, Kitagawa, Raddi, Carlos, & Pombeiro‐Sponchiado, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Melanins are natural pigments produced by the oxidation and polymerization of phenols; their structure is complex, diverse, and undefined (Solano, ). The biological activities of melanins include photoprotection, thermoregulation, chemoprotection, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory, among others (Huang et al, ; Pugh et al, ); such activities have been associated with the high conjugation in the melanin structures (El‐Obeid, Kamal‐Eldin, Abdelhalim, & Haseeb, ; Riley, ). Despite these activities, melanins have been scarcely studied because harsh pH conditions are used in their extraction, and their yield and solubility in most solvents are low (Aghajanyan et al, ; Mazurkiewicz, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soluble melanins of the Randia echinocarpa fruit – Structural characteristics and toxicity

et al. 2019

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The water-soluble melanins (SM) of Randia echinocarpa fruit possess interesting biological activities and have been scarcely characterized. In this study, SM were obtained at boiling (SMBT) and room (SMRT) temperatures and characterized by UV-Vis, IR, thermogravimetric analysis, and GC-MS of the hydrolysis products of the SM; besides, the solid-state 13 C NMR, elemental analysis, and acute and sub-acute toxicity of the SMBT were determined. SMBT and SMRT contain organic acids and carbohydrates and their spectroscopic signals and thermograms were similar, but the SMBT yield was higher.The SMBT were characterized by their elemental composition (C 48.260 ± 0.011%, N 3.693 ± 0.009% and H 6.093 ± 0.076%) consistent with the presence of aromatic rings and eumelanins, degradation temperature at 300°C, 13 C NMR signals supporting melanin-bonding with carbohydrates and organic acids, and innocuity in Balb/C mice (acute assay, LD 50 > 5 g/kg b.w.; sub-acute assay, no lethality at 500 mg/kg b.w. for 30 days). Practical applicationsThe consumption of melanins has been associated with health benefits because of their biological activities (e.g., antioxidant, immunostimulatory, UV-and radiationprotective). Randia echinocarpa is employed in Mexican traditional medicine against chronic degenerative diseases (e.g., cancer and diabetes) and ailments of organs (e.g., kidney and lung) and systems (e.g., circulatory and gastrointestinal). The R. echinocarpa fruit contains water-soluble melanins (SM) that inhibit carbohydrate-digestive enzymes and show high antioxidant activity; thus, SM could be useful for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. This study showed that the SM structure contains melanin-bonding organic acids and carbohydrates, which could be associated with the SM solubility and higher yield, and that SMBT were innocuous in the acute and sub-acute assays in mice. Thus, the R. echinocarpa SMBT could be used as safe potential ingredients to develop functional products. K E Y W O R D Sdietary supplements, elemental analysis, functional food, melanin, solid-state carbon-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, toxicity 2 of 12 | GIL-AVILÉS et AL.

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“…Many reports (reviewed) show immunomodulatory activity of melanin. The vast majority of them, however, relates to the research models based on the administration of exogenous melanin of natural or synthetic origin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated melanocytes from lightly and darkly pigmented skin

Tam

Dzierżęga‐Lęcznar

Stępień

2019

Experimental Dermatology

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Increasing evidence suggests that human epidermal melanocytes play an important role in the skin immune system; however, a role of their pigmentation in immune and inflammatory responses is poorly examined. In the study, the expression of Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) and inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by cultured normal melanocytes derived from lightly and darkly pigmented skin was investigated after cell stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The basal TLR4 mRNA level in heavily pigmented cells was higher as compared to their lightly pigmented counterparts. Melanocyte exposure to LPS upregulated the expression of TLR4 mRNA and enhanced the DNA‐binding activity of NF‐κB p50 and p65. We found substantial differences in the LPS‐stimulated expression of numerous genes encoding inflammatory cytokines and chemokines between the cells with various melanin contents. In lightly pigmented melanocytes, the most significantly upregulated genes were nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT/visfatin), the chemokines CCL2 and CCL20, and IL6, while the genes for CXCL12, IL‐16 and the chemokine receptor CCR4 were the most significantly upregulated in heavily pigmented cells. Moreover, the lightly pigmented melanocytes secreted much more NAMPT, CCL2 and IL‐6. The results of our study suggest modulatory effect of melanogenesis on the immune properties of normal epidermal melanocytes.

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Pharmacological Properties of Melanin and its Function in Health

Cited by 122 publications

References 79 publications

The Beneficial Use of Melanin in Inhibiting and Treating HCC Through Preventing CBC, Liver Enzymes, Oxidative Stress, and Lipid Peroxidation Alterations

The Beneficial Use of Melanin in Inhibiting and Treating HCC Through Preventing CBC, Liver Enzymes, Oxidative Stress, and Lipid Peroxidation Alterations

Soluble melanins of the Randia echinocarpa fruit – Structural characteristics and toxicity

Differential expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated melanocytes from lightly and darkly pigmented skin

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