 Dopaquinone can combine with cysteine by two pathways to benzothiazines and pheomelanins

Also, dopaquinone can be converted to leucodopachrome and follow two more pathways to the eumelanins

Detailed metabolic pathways can be found in the KEGG database (see External links).Melanin is brown, non-refractile, and finely granular with individual granules having a diameter of less than 800 nanometers.This differentiates melanin from common blood breakdown pigments, which are larger, chunky, and refractile, and range in color from green to yellow or red-brown.