An insight into the scientific background and future perspectives for the potential uses of melatonin

Abstract

Antiepileptic Antiosteoporotic Antioxidant Cardiovascular disease Circardian rhythm Hypnotic Immunodulatory Melatonin a b s t r a c t Melatonin is one of the most versatile and ubiquitous molecule widely distributed in nature has been reported to play a role in a wide variety of physiological responses including reproduction, circadian homeostasis, sleep, retinal neuromodulation, and vasomotor responses. In most vertebrates, including humans, melatonin is synthesized primarily in the pineal gland and is regulated by the environmental light ⁄ dark cycle via the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Melatonin is synthesized in all areas of the body such as gastrointestinal tract, skin, bone marrow, retina and in lymphocytes, from which it may influence other physiological functions through paracrine signalling. In addition to regulation of circadian rhythm of melatonin a variety of other physiological effects such as hypnotic, antidepressant, antiepileptic, oncostatic, immunomodulatory, antiosteoporotic, in cardiovascular disease, neuromodulatory and cerebral ischaemic condition have been reported.Moreover there is scarcity of literature that reviewed the scientific evidence for its use in these conditions. Therefore in this article we review recent advances in this research field, which is preceded by a concise account of general information about melatonin, melatonin receptors and intracellular signalling pathways for melatonin actions.

An Overview of Melatonin as an Antioxidant Molecule: A Biochemical Approach

“…Each of these products of rearrangement is also a potent antioxidant in its own right. Furthermore, most of these processes involve more than one ROS per step, so that one melatonin molecule has the capacity to scavenge up to 10 ROS versus the classic antioxidants that scavenge one or less ROS [17,20,70,74]. It has been found that melatonin promotes the repair of oxidized DNA.…”

“…Melatonin is secreted primarily by the pineal gland in response to darkness [2,13,14]. It was later found to be also present or synthesized in extrapineal sites such as retina, Harderian gland, lymphocytes, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow cells, platelets and skin [13,[15][16][17]. The neurohormone melatonin is not stored in the pineal gland but rather is released into the bloodstream and can penetrate all body tissues [18].…”

Planting Dates and Harvesting Stages Influence on Maize Yield under Rain-Fed Conditions

“…Anwar et al (2015) explained that extreme temperatures caused developmental shifts and disrupting reproduction processes. Also, late planting maize may experience cooler conditions during its early vegetative growth stage and extended towards grain filling stage which may lengthens the grain filling period.…”

Naturally occurring melatonin: Sources and possible ways of its biosynthesis

“…The authors outlined that in eukaryotic cells mitochondria are the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species and therefore they require specific on‐site protection. Among the endogenous antioxidant representatives, MEL and its metabolic derivatives are the most potent free radical scavengers (Zhang & Zhang, 2014) that help to struggle with free radicals, protecting live cells from oxidation processes and maintain homeostasis (Anwar et al., 2015; Galano, Tan, & Reiter, 2011; Hardeland & Poeggeler, 2003; Paredes, Korkmaz, Manchester, Tan, & Reiter, 2009; Reiter, Tan, Terron, Flores, & Czarnocki, 2007). One MEL molecule has the capacity to scavenge up to 10 ROS versus the other antioxidants that scavenge 1 or even less ROS (Tan, Manchester, Esteban‐Zubero, Zhou, & Reiter, 2015).…”