Dopaquinone is highly reactive and in the absence of sulfhydryl compounds it undergoes the intramolecular addition of the amino group to produce an intermediate, leucodopachrome (also termed cyclodopa). A redox exchange between cyclodopa and dopaquinone then gives rise to dopachrome, an orange-red intermediate (Raper 1927, Mason et al. 1948) and dopa. This latter reaction is considered the source of dopa formed during melanogenesis (Ito & Wakamatsu 2008).
Mason, HS
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