Melanins in Vertebrates

It is known that melanin pigments composed of black to dark brown eumelanin (EM) and yellow to reddish-brown pheomelanin (PM) are widely distributed in vertebrates. Melanin pigments in vertebrate are produced in melanocytes which are distributed in the epidermis, hair follicles, choroid, iris, inner ear, and other tissues. The diversity of the color in the internal and external tissues in vertebrates is mainly attributed to the quantity and ratio of EM and PM. Melanin pigments are highly oxidized and complex pigments. It is thus important to analyze these two types of melanin pigments in studies of the biochemical and genetic bases of pigmentation in vertebrates. Two microanalytical methods to perform the simultaneous measurement of eumelanin and pheomelanin were established to characterize melanin and melanogenesis.