ABSTRACT
A recent study published in the Skin Cancer Foundation has revealed a significant rise in melanoma cases among people aged 18 to 39 years old. The prevalence of 800" among young women and 400" among young men sounded like alarm bells. Melatonin is an evolutionally phylogenic old molecule. During the day, melatonin levels are low because of the light intensity, and by contrast its level peaks occur during the night being responsible for inducing physiological changes that promote sleep, such as decreased body temperature and respiration rate. Originally, melatonin was believed to be synthesized exclusively in pineal gland of vertebrates. Melatonin is metabolized through enzymatic as well as chemical reactions in a total of three major metabolic pathways: classic, indolic and kynuric. The classical pathway for melatonin degradation starts with circulating melatonin being metabolized mainly in the liver by the CYP450 family enzymes to 6-hydroxymelatonin. The skin is an organ with an unquestionable importance for the organism protection and integrity.
