Sir, the recent publication on branch chain amino acid (BCAA) and melanogenesis is very interesting.(Citation1) Cha et al. report that “a complex of BCAAs inhibited melanin production without changes in intercellular tyrosinase activity,(Citation1)” and they propose further that “the complex of BCAAs may be used in the development of safe potential depigmenting agents.(Citation1)” Based on this work, it can be said that the use of BCAA might be a new alternative approach to supportive cancer management. It is useful in the management of the cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome.(Citation2) Cha et al. mention that their observations of the inhibition of melanogenesis suggest that it might have a further application in the management of melanoma.(Citation1) This concept is very interesting. However, there are some other new reports concerning the management of melanoma. The main question is whether adding BCAA is really useful, and without problems. The point is that there is no other evidence to support the view that adding BCAA can help control melanoma. On the other hand, deprivation of leucine, not its adding, has been proved to be useful in the control of melanoma.(Citation3) Hence, the issue of the exact usefulness of adding BCAAs in melanoma management remains controversial.
In addition, the use of BCAAs as depigmenting agents has to be discussed. Although the mechanism might be possible, reversed pigmenting within a short period of the complete admission of BCAA can be expected. Since the observed inhibition in this report(Citation1) is not of long duration, the continuous use of BCAAs might be required to maintain the depigmenting result. It should be noted also that there is no account taken of the possibility that long-term use of BCAAs might produce adverse effects. Finally, the interaction in real-life use of BCCAs and other supplementation is possibly a point that should have been given exposure.(Citation4) When the aim is to develop a new depigmenting agent based on BCCAs, there should be concern about the co-usage of it with other supplementation. It is therefore concluded that the use of BCAA in the procuring of the modification of melanogenesis physiology should be subjected to further careful investigation.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
References
- Cha, J.Y., Yang, H.J., Moon, H.I., Cho, Y.S. Branched-chain amino acids complex inhibits melanogenesis in B16F0 melanoma cells. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2011 Aug 19. [Epub ahead of print]
- Inui, A. Cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome: current issues in research and management. CA Cancer J Clin. 2002 Mar-Apr;52(2):72–91.
- Sheen, J.H., Zoncu, R., Kim, D., Sabatini, D.M. Defective regulation of autophagy upon leucine deprivation reveals a targetable liability of human melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Cell. 2011 May 17;19(5):613–28.
- Bishop, D. Dietary supplements and team-sport performance. Sports Med. 2010 Dec 1;40(12):995–1017.