Effect of Melatonin on Lipid Barrier in Rats’ Skin

In this work we studied the effect of intraperitoneal administration of melatonin in a dose of 1 mg per kg on lipids and microstructure of rats’ skin. A single injection of melatonin induced a change in lipid profile most notably in phospholipids and triacylglycerol fractions which contents varied oscillatory in opposite each other with a maximum divergence at 3 hours. By 24 hours there was a significant increase in triglycerides, and after 48 hours the lipid profile approached the initial values. After regular daily administration of melatonin for 6 days, the contents of almost all lipid fractions were significantly reduced (most in triacylglycerols and phospholipids) with growing level of free fatty acids. By 21st day the contents of lipids in the skin increased again, but did not reach the initial values. Reduction of lipid level was accompanied by prominent degenerative changes in the microstructure of the skin by the 6th day of experiment. In general, the administration of melatonin in any way caused the changes in skin’s lipid profile but after a single introduction parameters of lipid spectrum in two days were restored to their initial values, and a regular administration for 6 days led to sustained changes in lipid profile and structure of the skin.