***Hello fellow steemians Thank you so much for stopping by.Here is something you probably want to check out.*** *** Today we will be discussing on a very interesting and most indistinct entity of human life, ***The Melanin.***I hope you will love to read it. > Bible says "Elohim formed a man from the Dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being." As seeds growing from dirt turns into plants, and plants utilize chlorophyll to absorb radiations for survival,Human body does same thing but with the help of melanin.So, Human body can be called as ***a walking tree!!*** In fact, Human acts as GOD to the plants as we are breathing out**The Carbon dioxide.**(My view here actually is not to pessimizes about nature.It is just to co-relate with the topic). Human has the same ability as that of the plant.They can actually synthesize the spectrum of radiations for food and survival. **Man is a reflection of the divine(universe), the Universe is entirely composed of melanin[From The Bible].* ![D7548452-E263-4461-BE28-923D0C4034CB.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQsyJ4z1RbuBALcjDR96BHh6k9T5oodyaJph738E7LrMM/D7548452-E263-4461-BE28-923D0C4034CB.png) [image source](https://goo.gl/images/dMG2YS) *** # About Melanin Melanin, the organic superconductor, is a group of natural pigments found in most organism.It is a copper-containing pigment produced by oxidation of amino acid tyrosine in a special group of cells i.e. **Melanocytes.** ![340F3ED1-B009-49B5-998D-ED83831823B8.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQma8YrsQCvTbFKSHK3hauhQQbCSMDuJUUnVyATpkzPQv8A/340F3ED1-B009-49B5-998D-ED83831823B8.jpeg) [image source](https://goo.gl/images/zQYKUn) (Melanin secreted by melanocyte) It exists in 3 forms.***Eumelanin***(which color the hair), ***Pheomelanin***(which color the skin, iris, striae vascularis of the inner ear) and ***Neuromelanin***(in the substantial nigra of Brain and zona reticularis of the adrenal gland) and has property different to that of plant pigments. ![296B2BB8-8D02-47A5-9365-2E98E1F97B25.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdh5TEHBbZEfXMmmbKTs9W6LtQRRuh9c6my38ZP6mTob2/296B2BB8-8D02-47A5-9365-2E98E1F97B25.jpeg) [image source](https://goo.gl/images/ZQmdqL) (Synthesis of melanin from tyrosine as depicted in the above figure) # So, what differentiates it from chlorophyll? Chlorophyll is a plant natural pigment containing Magnesium and appears black as soil in its most concentrated and refined form.Unlike melanin, it retains energy and doesn't allow any excess energy to escape.While, melanin, a copper-containing polymer facilitates the electric signals to be transferred in all parts of the body and evokes a biological response.It has broad absorption spectrum and absorbs thousands of times more electromagnetic radiation than chlorophyll. ![5407A5FE-275C-4C71-B0FF-06A2377D3AAD.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVLfHjUcqGmJnFjtsDwBaoMsjqwi6RvAGv43mWyYVVfns/5407A5FE-275C-4C71-B0FF-06A2377D3AAD.png) [image source](https://goo.gl/images/xrGqxj) (Melanin with molecular formula of C18H10N2O4) # Biological importance of Melanin * It is the first line of defense against the harmful UV-rays.On prolonged exposure to UV -ray skin darkens and tanning occurs. * It prevents photodegradation of certain vitamins such as Riboflavin, Carotenoids, Tocopherol, and Folate. * It is a powerful free body scavenger and antioxidants, as it ligates the toxic metal ions with its carboxylate and phenolic hydroxyl group and sequester their effects, protecting the rest of the cells. * It prevents the UV and high-frequency visible light to pass into the eyes and facilitates the clear visions. * Neuromelanins in the substantia nigra of brain protects neurons by chelating metals and xenobiotics.Deficiency of this neuromelanin in brain results in **PARKINSONISM.** # So Melanin is really divine for human life, isn't it?? Well, we can agree with this statement but as we know The more perfect a thing is the more susceptible to good and bad the treatment it is. **Melanoma,** a tumor that develops from melanin-producing cells is one of the most common and prevalent tumors of the skin ![5396D960-7757-4C29-B2CE-C8095F367519.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWrxmARK4qYXzrobtTWZnabaLi3pEwVfJ299vKqdANKKb/5396D960-7757-4C29-B2CE-C8095F367519.jpeg) [image source](https://goo.gl/images/x8akVP) (Melanoma of skin compared with normal nevus of skin) Normally Melanocytes insert melanin granules into the human epidermis where they accumulate at the summit of cell nucleus and protect the nuclear DNA from mutations caused by ionizing UV-rays.So people who have very low quantity of melanin are very prone to develop this fatal skin tumor.**Privilege to the black people who are safer than the whites because of high concentration of melanin in their melanocytes.** But excess melanin**(the red melanin found in the skin and hair)** in the Blondes and Redheads can increase the susceptibility to skin cancer and magnify the damaging effect of UV-rays.Besides this, more melanin tends to make the skin of African-American and other people of different color more reactive to rash, scratch, pimple or inflammation.**(Courtesy:-Dr.Susan Taylor in Brown Skin).** # Is there any alternative supplement of Melanin? Research has proved that **Chaga mushroom**(a fungus parasite on Birch and other Trees) support healthy levels of Melanin in the body. ![4F1920B3-80B2-4EA5-BECC-820AAE35C2A0.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUNqDKwo9Ckvns4Th19dYQw6BuHg3kRHfjZiQhXMQrDXT/4F1920B3-80B2-4EA5-BECC-820AAE35C2A0.jpeg) [image source](https://goo.gl/images/Xrr26H) (Chaga mushroom on the Birch tree) The fungus synthesizes high molecular weight, a polyphenolic chromogenic human-like complex compound whose properties are more alike melanin.Melanin from this fungus has strong antioxidant as well as gene protection effects.But its use as the anticancer medication is still under study. *** # References:- 1.Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry 29th edition 2.Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews Biochemistry 4th edition 3.Robbins & Cotrans Pathologic Basis of Disease(South Asia Edition) 4.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanin 5.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inonotus_obliquus 6.http://soular00t.tumblr.com/post/46247799675/melanin-chlorophyll-for-animals 7.https://www.livestrong.com/article/339696-the-health-benefits-of-melanin/ 8.https://chichaga.com/melanin-supplement *** > #SteemSTEM It is a community driven project in steemit run by the scientists and people having great affection for science. It promotes S-science(including medicine/health),T-technology,E-engineering and M-mathematics in steemit.You can join our discord channel here- discord.gg/mKSKQ7T. *** **Thanks for reading . Any feedback and comments are highly welcome !** DON'T FORGET TO RESTEEM, FOLLOW AND UPVOTE ![2DF8CF60-99CB-43C2-8CBE-D80E961274FF.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdptp3wuqUhNBhg4WR5np2qeDJa1vCSKtFHoH3bf5BXFu/2DF8CF60-99CB-43C2-8CBE-D80E961274FF.jpeg)