Relationship between skin melanin index and nicotine pharmacokinetics in African American smokers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Blacks bear a disproportionate burden of smoking-related diseases and experience greater difficulty quitting smoking than Whites. Nicotine has a high affinity for melanin, and it has been hypothesized that melanin levels might influence nicotine pharmacokinetics and enhance dependence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that melanin affects nicotine disposition kinetics in humans.

Methods

Forty-four Black participants were administered intravenous infusions of deuterium-labeled nicotine and cotinine. Plasma concentrations of nicotine and cotinine were measured, and pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated. The constitutive and facultative melanin indexes were measured using a dermaspectrophotometer.

Results

The median constitutive melanin

SUBMITTER: Liakoni E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7272190 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature