Distribution of epidermal melanin pigment among the inhabitants of Karachi

ABSTRACT

A study was conducted at Department of Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences Institute, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre [JPMC] Karachi, to investigate the distribution of epidermal melanin with respect to age and ethnic groups in Pakistan and intensity of epidermal melanin under ultraviolet radiation among the inhabitants population of Karachi. Epidermal malanin in 5 micro m thick vertical paraffin embedded sections of eighty human skin samples were studied with light microscopy from different age and ethnic groups with schmort technique. The quantity of epidermal melanin diminished as the age advanced. There was no significant difference among different ethnic groups in Pakistan, and the amount of epidermal melanin was significantly higher in exposed than in unexposed parts of body among the population of Karachi. The distribution of epidermal melanin appeared to be inversely proportional to the advancing age, it remained constant among different ethnic groups of Pakistan, but the intensity was significantly higher in exposed than in unexposed parts of body among Karachiites