Microorganisms: Producers of Melatonin in Fermented Foods and Beverages

Abstract

Melatonin has recently been detected in fermented beverages and foods, in which microorganism metabolism is highly important. The existing literature knowledge discusses the direction for future studies in this review. Evidence shows that many species of microorganisms could synthesize melatonin. However, the actual concentrations of melatonin in fermented foods and beverages range from picograms per milliliter to nanograms per milliliter. Different types of microorganisms, different raw materials, different culture environments, the presence or absence of precursors, high or low alcohol content, and different detection methods are all possible reasons for the huge difference of melatonin levels. Thus far, there have been relatively few studies on the melatonin synthesis pathway microorganisms. Thus, referring to the synthetic pathway of plants and animals, the putative melatonin biosynthesis pathway of microorganisms is presented. It will be significant to discuss whether all species of microorganisms have the capacity to synthesize melatonin and what the biological functions of melatonin are in microorganisms. Melatonin plays a lot of important roles in microorganisms, particularly in enhancing the tolerance of environment stress. Also, the loss of melatonin concentration in commercially available fermented foods and beverages is a ubiquitous trend, and how to solve this problem is a new field to be further explored.

Construction of cell factory capable of efficiently converting l-tryptophan into 5-hydroxytryptamine

“…Author details 1 State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China. 2 College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China.…”

“…(5-HT), N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine and melatonin, have gained increasing attention due to their direct health and medical benefits, and their production of other valuable molecules as key biosynthetic precursors [1][2][3][4]. Among these, 5-HT is a major neurotransmitter that is naturally present in animals and plants [5].…”

Microbial production of beneficial indoleamines (serotonin and melatonin) with potential application to biotechnological products for human health

“…Microbial production of melatonin has been well described in fermented drinks like wines, mainly produced by yeasts belonging to the genus Saccharomyces (Rodriguez-Naranjo et al 2012;Fernandez-Cruz et al 2019;Muñiz-Calvo et al 2019). The relevance of these studies lies in the fact that melatonin affects organoleptic properties and other characteristics in fermented products (Que et al 2020). In this sense, Rodriguez-Naranjo et al (2012) described the synthesis of melatonin in different culture media by several Saccharomyces sp.…”

“…The relevance of these studies lies in the fact that melatonin affects organoleptic properties and other characteristics in fermented products (Que et al . 2020). In this sense, Rodriguez‐Naranjo et al .…”

Melatonin-Induced Inhibition of Shiraia Hypocrellin A Biosynthesis Is Mediated by Hydrogen Peroxide and Nitric Oxide

“…Vázquez et al (2017) also reported that MLT at 5 μM could mitigate H 2 O 2 -induced damage to yeast by decreasing ROS accumulation, enhancing GSSG/GSH, and increasing the expressions of endogenous antioxidant defense genes [ 20 ]. There were a few studies on MLT production of yeasts in fermented foods and beverages [ 21 ]. However, little information is available regarding the effects of MLT on fungal growth and metabolism.…”