Comments on: Canthaxanthin (Tanning pills or blinding pills?)

by: motd

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 22:57:43 +0000

For comparison:

I'm not sure of the cis-trans isomerism here.

by: Adam

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 20:33:42 +0000

Another retinoid, Tegison (etretinate) is even nastier--you can't donate blood or have children if you've ever taken it.

by: motd

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 03:14:13 +0000

Nope, beta-carotene is benign as far as I know. An active form of it in vivo, retinoic acid, can be quite toxic at high doses. The isomeric isotretinoin is also quite toxic and is given medically as Accutane, a drug of last resort for acne. It can cause birth defects. Aside from that and the obvious skin side effects, it can alter liver function and raise blood lipids.

by: Mike

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 02:38:14 +0000

So if im reading this right “eating all your carrots because they are good for your eyes” was all a bunch of bullshit and in fact could lead to color blindness from the high amount of beta-carotene (closely related to the canthaxanthin known to cause color blindness).

Insane.