Melatonin intake and potential chronobiological effects on human health

Abstract

Melatonin is an indolamine with a recognized chronobiotic role. In turn, the supplementation of melatonin through capsules has been shown to be efficient in the modulation of inflammatory markers, oxidative stress, as well as in the control of hypertension and metabolic syndrome. However, the science of nutrition is interested in the study of the food sources of this hormone and its possible therapeutic effects. Thus, this review aimed to identify and present scientific papers that quantified melatonin in foods and evaluated its application in intervention studies. In total, 278 studies were found, of which 17 were included in this review. The results show that meats, fish, eggs, cereals, tubers, oilseeds, mushrooms, fruits, vegetables, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and dairy products had some items analyzed for their melatonin concentrations. The concentrations reported presented considerable amplitude among different foods and even within the same species, possibly due to differences in cultivation and different hormonal dosing techniques. Also, different concentrations of melatonin can be presented for the same food when submitted to processes such as cooking, roasting or fermentation. The intervention studies presented positive results regarding the consumption of foods rich in melatonin and clinical-metabolic indicators. However, in order to guide nutritional behavior, it is necessary to consult a composition table that makes melatonin concentrations available and considers the processes involved in the preparation of the food. With this table, it will be possible to analyze the real effect of habitual consumption of melatonin from food on health.

Melatonin in Medicinal and Food Plants: Occurrence, Bioavailability, and Health Potential for Humans

“…In one of these studies, a positive correlation was found between melatonin-rich foods and clinical-metabolic indicators. Also, melatonin concentration varies markedly among various foods, and its concentration may change during the food products’ preparation [133].…”

Dietary Melatonin Supplementation Could Be a Promising Preventing/Therapeutic Approach for a Variety of Liver Diseases

“…So, the presence of phytomelatonin in beverages derived from plant products are not surprising. In fact, phytomelatonin has been quantified in large amount in the most popular beverages such as coffee, tea, juice, herbal infusions, wine and beer [ 11 , 96 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 ]. In alcoholic drinks like beer [ 122 , 130 ] and wine [ 127 , 131 ], the melatonin amount was of 0.09 ± 0.01 ng/mL in beer [ 130 ] and up to 129.5 ± 3.5 ng/mL in wine [ 122 , 130 ].…”

Melatonin Attenuates Dasatinib-Aggravated Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension via Inhibiting Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling

“…As a neurohormone, melatonin is characterized with pleiotropic activities, such as treating insomnia ( 19 ), inhibiting tumor growth ( 20 , 21 ), and being utilized as an adjuvant of cancer therapies ( 22 , 23 ). Numerous investigations have indicated that melatonin also has many benefits on the cardiovascular system, including regulation of atherosclerosis, depression of hypertension, and prevention of hypertensive heart disease ( 24 – 26 ). Moreover, melatonin alleviated hemodynamics and pulmonary vascular remodeling in hypoxic PH rats ( 18 ), decreased pulmonary vascular remodeling and oxygen sensitivity in pulmonary hypertensive newborn lambs ( 16 ), and alleviated vascular disorders in monocrotaline-induced PH rats ( 27 ).…”