When I first joined this board and read through most
of the messages, I have to admit that I was a bit  
disappointed.  Despite injecting loads of melanotan (I or II),
people were still exposing themselves to the sun or  
tanning beds in order to achieve a tan.
 
That wasn't supposed to be the deal.  In the frog experiments,
the frog turned black without UV exposure.
 
The deal was this was supposed to be the ultimate sunless  
tanner.  They would eventually develop an implant or pill
and it would be 'take this pill - get a tan'.
 
So what is the missing link?  aMSH and then, as was recently
discovered, cAMP, is supposed to be the END of the chain
of events that causes melanin to moved into the outer
layers of the skin.  A chain that normally begins with the
UV exposure -- not ends with it.
 
I think the missing link is Vitamin D.  The body will attempt to
keep skin lighter in color to allow more UV through when  
blood vitamin D levels are low.  Evidence for just such a
thing was recently presented at the 13th Annual Vitamin D  
Workshop in Victoria in May of this year.
 
The workshop, details how many people in the modern
world are Vitamin D deficient, and that quite large oral  
dosages of D3 may be needed to correct this deficiency.
 
Be sure to read the entire thing and make your own
decisions about dosages -- pay special attention to  
the fact that D3 is the safe one and D2 is much more toxic.
 
 
Seom interesting quotes:
 
"Dr. Robert Heaney presented by video hookup and made his quiet but powerful case that about 75% of American women are vitamin D deficient (levels less than 35 ng/mL), that about 3,000 units a day are needed to bring 95 % of the population out of the deficient range, and that 10,000 units a day is the safe upper limit. (This does not mean you should take 10,000 units per day, it means scientists should be able to study 10,000 unit daily doses without the bureaucratic difficulty they now encounter). "
 
"Dr. Dixon presented fascinating evidence that high vitamin D blood levels prevent sunburn! Of course, it makes sense. When vitamin D levels are low, the skin stays as white as it can to make as much vitamin D as it can, just in case you ignore Dr. Gilchrest's advice. When vitamin D levels are high, the skin rapidly tans to prevent excessive vitamin D skin production. A number of people have emailed me that observation: now that their levels are high, they tan very quickly. I've noticed the same thing. "
 
ref:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/newsletter/2006-may.shtml
 
 

Quote from MSHie   on 10/21/06 at 20:16:59:

 
D3 is "Cholecalciferol".  You want the kind without
the vitamin A or anything else.  D is fat soluble and
should be in or taken with fat for absorption.
 
Here is one http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/d3-5.html
 
Here is another : http://nutritiondome1.stores.yahoo.net/d3.html
 
After reading much about this over the past few
days, I am very confident that 2000IU a day is safe for  
adults, and perhaps even much more.  
MS patients have been taking up to 40,000IU!
(But they are treating an illness so lets not get too crazy yet).
 
The safest thing to do ist o get some baseline blood levels  
taken, along with a standard blod test.  The correct test
is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D  
not 1,25(OH)D.  Optimal levels may be 45-50 ng/ml or
115-128 nmol/l and should never be below 32 ng/ml.
 
If you are using melanotan or melanotan II then you should be getting
regular blood tests anyway to monitor liver toxicity.
(Not saying this is a known specific problem with melanotan,  
just what I would personally do if experimenting with any
drug -- ounce of prevention and all).
 
Ref: http://www.mercola.com/2002/feb/23/vitamin_d_deficiency.htm
 
 
 
 

Great research Zorba!
 
I found a supplier at ebay selling 365tab for 18$. Do you think that's serious stuff? Here is the link:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ultra-Vitamin-D3-365-Tablets_W0QQitemZ290041538180QQihZ019QQ categoryZ11776QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
regards
Red

Quote from MSHie   on 10/22/06 at 07:09:44:

 
 
1: Astaxanthin
Like Canthaxanthin this is used as a dye for fish color -
nothing to do with melanin AFAIK.
 
2: Cu as Cu Tartrate - NOT Cu Oxide
Copper is an element in the tanning process.
My choice for supplement is one of the ionic
coppers.  I think there is possibly a link with a certain
copper compound but not sure about which one,
possibly copper-carnosine compounds.  And there is some
relation, I believe with phosphatidyl serine.
Excess copper will make you __VERY SICK__
 
3: Folic Acid
Copper metabolism support.  Also B5 IMHO,
and possibly Zinc.  Zinc/copper balance each other
and I believe molybdenum also
http://www.drkaslow.com/html/zinc-copper_imbalances.html
http://www.arltma.com/CuIntroDoc.htm
as well as histidine and definately PABA and DMAE.
DMAE-H3 is useful in both hyperpigmentation and
vitiligo so it seems that PABA helps regulate copper
metabolism(?) and DMAE helps remove excessive pigment.
 
4: L-Phenylalanine
Tyrosine precursor
 
5: L-Tyrosine
Oxidized to tyrosinase, melanin precursor,
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v180/n4583/abs/180441a0.html
 
6: Vitamin C
Topically might be an inhibitor of melanin,
http://skin-care.health-cares.net/skin-whitening.php
 
I take quite  bit.  D3 is a hormone
and adequate ascorbate levels seem to be needed  
for normal hormone functioning.
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&lis t_uids=14217463&dopt=Abstract
has POWERFUL action aginst skin cancer:
http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer02/VitaminC.html
 
7: Vitamin D3 [Cholecalciferol]
Possibly crucial element that lies between cAMP and
melanin response...
 
 
 

Ok, a caveat:
 
READ THIS PDF FILE!!!
 
http://www.greenpasture.org/content/VitaminDPublishedVersion.pdf
 
Vit D is the most toxic vitamin there is.  Yes, ALMOST all the evidence out there right now points to a big deficiency for most of us, so i recommend supplementing and I do so -- with of course D3 -- do NOT take D2 as a supplement.  
 
But going upwards of 2000-3000 per day may be a little risky UNLESS you take lots of Vitamin A and K to buffer it.  
 
READ THIS:  Extremely comprehensive and essential to read to fully understand Vitamin D in the body.  This is important if you're gonna fuck around with Vitamin D -- which I am now.  I am gonna go around 4000 per day supplemental I think, but I'm gonna take lots of A and K with it, along with a very potent multi throughout the day.
 
It is ALWAYS dangerous to megadose on  SINGLE vitamin -- except C and maybe the B's.  The fat soluable ones though need to be buffered by taking all of them.  They use each other.  
 
 
 

Yep.  At least partly...
 
Almost all evidence suggests many many many people are deficient.  But it's so much more complicated than that.  You really need to read both articles to attempt high dose supplementation properly.

Quote from Kakarot   on 10/23/06 at 00:40:24:

 
Vitamin D3 is not really a vitamin.  Its a hormone.
Its made in the skin and not subject to the  
same requirements for cofactors that food borne
vitamins are.  
 
The skin can make as much as 10-25,000IU from a  
minimal sunburn.  Now I would NEVER reccomend  
taking this much when there is no history of  
people taking such large amounts.  But at this  
point, I am convinced 2000IU D3 a day is safe for
healthy individuals.  I wouldn't take any D2.
 
 
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/pdf/Vitamin_D_Expert_Panel_Meeting.pdf
 
"Approximately 25 ìg (1000 IU) of vitamin D can be synthesized when 6% of the body is exposed to one MED for 5 minutes two or three times per week (Holick 1999). This is based on the observation that a healthy individual whose whole body is exposed to one MED of simulated sunlight will have circulating vitamin D concentrations comparable to those from ingesting 250 ìg to 625 ìg (10,000 IU to 25,000 IU) of vitamin D."
 
See also :: http://www.bioticsresearch.com/PDF/Vitamin%20D%20ATHM2004%20Vasquez.pdf
 

Just know that you need to up your Vitamin A and K if you're gonna up your D at the very least.  Better yet, take a very strong multi.  And that study that cites Cod Liver oil as "bad" is rife with problems.  Cod Liver oil is not bad, and a great way to get the A with the D IMO.

Nice:
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&a mp;cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=3022423
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&a mp;cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=2836517
 
I guess I'll be applying mine topically.   ; )

zorba - I found a study to support Dr. Dixon's statements that you found.  
 
"Dr. Dixon presented fascinating evidence that high vitamin D blood levels prevent sunburn! Of course, it makes sense. When vitamin D levels are low, the skin stays as white as it can to make as much vitamin D as it can, just in case you ignore Dr. Gilchrest's advice. When vitamin D levels are high, the skin rapidly tans to prevent excessive vitamin D skin production. A number of people have emailed me that observation: now that their levels are high, they tan very quickly. I've noticed the same thing. "  
 
 
 
 
Here it is.........................  
 
 
Vitamin D nutrition increases skin tyrosinase response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
 
Pavlovitch JH, Rizk M, Balsan S.
 
The influence of vitamin D nutrition on melanogenesis in skin induced by UV radiation was studied in pigmented adult rats. Melanogenesis, assessed by the activity of skin tyrosinase (radiometric assay), was studied in vitamin-D-deficient and vitamin-D-fed rats exposed to UV (0.1 J/cm2, 290-320 nm). The tyrosinase activity in skin was not significantly changed by vitamin D treatment alone. In contrast, the induction of tyrosinase activity provoked by UV radiation was greater in vitamin-D-fed than in vitamin-D-deficient rats. The increase in skin tyrosinase activity in response to UV was preceded by an increase in skin cAMP levels. This rise in cAMP was greater in vitamin-D-treated rats than in vitamin-D-deficient rats. The pretreatment of rats with phosphodiesterase inhibitor potentiated the effect of vitamin D on skin tyrosinase activity. The low serum calcium levels in the vitamin-D-deficient group were evidently not responsible for the lower UV induction of skin tyrosinase activity because the vitamin-D-deficient rats with normal serum calcium levels (supplemented with 20% lactose and 2% calcium in the diet) were also unable to show maximal induction of skin tyrosinase activity in response to UV radiation requires the presence of adequate vitamin D. cAMP may be involved in the mediation of this effect. The relationship observed between the vitamin D status of animals and tyrosinase activity of skin could provide an effective feed-back control for protection against UV and vitamin D intoxication.
 
PMID: 6175546 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]