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Boutin JA, Liberelle M, Yous S, Ferry G, Nepveu F. Melatonin facts: Lack of evidence that melatonin is a radical scavenger in living systems. J Pineal Res 2024; 76:e12926. [PMID: 38146602 DOI: 10.1111/jpi.12926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Melatonin is a small natural compound, so called a neuro-hormone that is synthesized mainly in pineal gland in animals. Its main role is to master the clock of the body, under the surveillance of light. In other words, it transfers the information concerning night and day to the peripheral organs which, without it, could not "know" which part of the circadian rhythm the body is in. Besides its main circadian and circannual rhythms mastering, melatonin is reported to be a radical scavenger and/or an antioxidant. Because radical scavengers are chemical species able to neutralize highly reactive and toxic species such as reactive oxygen species, one would like to transfer this property to living system, despite impossibilities already largely reported in the literature. In the present commentary, we refresh the memory of the readers with this notion of radical scavenger, and review the possible evidence that melatonin could be an in vivo radical scavenger, while we only marginally discuss here the fact that melatonin is a molecular antioxidant, a feature that merits a review on its own. We conclude four things: (i) the evidence that melatonin is a scavenger in acellular systems is overwhelming and could not be doubted; (ii) the transposition of this property in living (animal) systems is (a) theoretically impossible and (b) not proven in any system reported in the literature where most of the time, the delay of the action of melatonin is over several hours, thus signing a probable induction of cellular enzymatic antioxidant defenses; (iii) this last fact needs a confirmation through the discovery of a nuclear factor-a key relay in induction processes-that binds melatonin and is activated by it and (iv) we also gather the very important description of the radical scavenging capacity of melatonin in acellular systems that is now proven and shared by many other double bond-bearing molecules. We finally discussed briefly on the reason-scientific or else-that led this description, and the consequences of this claim, in research, in physiology, in pathology, but most disturbingly in therapeutics where a vast amount of money, hope, and patient bien-être are at stake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean A Boutin
- Laboratory of Regulatory Peptides, Energy Metabolism and Motivated Behavior, Department of Neuroendocrine, Endocrine and Germinal Differentiation and Communication (NorDiC), Univ Rouen Normandie, Inserm, NorDiC, Rouen, France
| | - Maxime Liberelle
- University of Lille, Lille Neurosciences and Cognition Research Center, U1172, Lille, France
| | - Saïd Yous
- University of Lille, Lille Neurosciences and Cognition Research Center, U1172, Lille, France
| | | | - Françoise Nepveu
- Dpt Sciences Pharmaceutiques, Faculté de santé, PHARMADEV, UMR 152, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
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Zimmerman JT, Schreiber SJ, Huddle LN. Case Report of Lethal Concentrations of the Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids Diphenhydramine and Melatonin. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2023; 44:00000433-990000000-00075. [PMID: 37195072 PMCID: PMC10430669 DOI: 10.1097/paf.0000000000000833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are not typically considered "drugs of abuse" by the public, yet they are implicated in a portion of overdose cases. Although the toxicity of some OTC medications (such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and diphenhydramine [DPH]) has been extensively reported in the medical literature, the lethality of other substances (including melatonin) has not been well established.We report the case of a 21-year-old woman who was found deceased within her secure residence. Scene investigation revealed the presence of 5 empty containers of DPH and a partially empty container of melatonin, as well as a handwritten note of apparent suicidal nature. Upon autopsy examination, the gastric mucosa was notable for a green-blue discoloration, and the gastric contents were consisted of a green-tan viscous material with admixed blue particulate material. Further analysis revealed elevated concentrations of both DPH and melatonin within the blood and gastric contents. The death was certified as a suicide by acute combined DPH and melatonin toxicity.This paper will review the pharmacology of OTC sleep aid medications and provide a brief outline of their documented toxicity, in addition to reinforcing the role of death scene investigation and its correlation with autopsy findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel T. Zimmerman
- From the Department of Pathology, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND
| | - Sara J. Schreiber
- Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Office of the Medical Examiner, County of Milwaukee, WI
| | - Lauren N. Huddle
- Department of Pathology, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND
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Chen Y, Shan X, Jiang H, Guo Z. Exogenous Melatonin Directly and Indirectly Influences Sheep Oocytes. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:903195. [PMID: 35720845 PMCID: PMC9203153 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.903195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding whether and how melatonin (MT) may impact sheep oocyte development competence is central to our ability to predict how sheep oocytes will respond to artificially regulated estrus. Implanting MT can make sheep enter estrus during the non-breeding season. One study found that the blastocyst rate increased under MT treatment, while another found that the blastocyst rate decreased. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of MT directly and indirectly influencing sheep oocytes. A total of 433 articles were collected from which 20 articles and 34 treatments were finally selected. A method for estimating the default value was established for the litter size analysis. We found that exogenous MT add into in vitro maturation medium was positively related to the blastocyst rate in the lab. However, subcutaneous implanting MT did not affect the in vivo ovulation rate, fertilization rate, blastocyst rate, or pregnancy rate at farm. MT did not affect the in vitro cleavage rate. However, MT improved the in vivo cleavage rate. We hypothesized that implanted MT could increase the concentration of MT in oviduct fluid in vivo, and also that in vitro MT could increase the early cleavage rate of sheep zygotes without affecting the total cleavage rate. In the analysis of oocyte apoptosis caused by injury, the results suggested that pyroptosis would be more suitable for further research. MT produces responses in all body organs, and thus implanting of MT during non-breeding seasons should consider the effect on animal welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Chen
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Resources (Sheep & Goat) Evaluation and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Xuesong Shan
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Resources (Sheep & Goat) Evaluation and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Huaizhi Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Resources (Sheep & Goat) Evaluation and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Zhenhua Guo
- Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Animal Husbandry Research Institute, Harbin, China
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Fan X, Li J, Deng X, Lu Y, Feng Y, Ma S, Wen H, Zhao Q, Tan W, Shi T, Wang Z. Design, synthesis and bioactivity study of N-salicyloyl tryptamine derivatives as multifunctional agents for the treatment of neuroinflammation. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 193:112217. [PMID: 32182488 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Because of the complex etiology in neuroinflammatory process, the design of multifunctional agents is a potent strategy to cure neuroinflammatory diseases including AD and PD. Herein, based on the combination principles, 23 of N-salicyloyl tryptamine derivatives as multifunctional agents were designed and their new application for anti-neuroinflammation was disclosed. In cyclooxygenase assay, two compounds 3 and 16 displayed extremely preferable COX-2 inhibition than N-salicyloyl tryptamine. In LPS-induced C6 and BV2 cell models, some compounds decreased the production of proinflammatory mediators NO, PGE2, TNF-α, iNOS, COX-2 and ROS, while increased the production of IL-10. Among them, compound 3 and 16 showed approximately six-fold better inhibition on nitric oxide production than N-salicyloyl tryptamine in C6. Besides, compounds 3, 13 and 16 attenuated the activation of BV2 and C6 cells. More importantly, in vivo, compounds 3 and 16 reduced GFAP and Iba-1 levels in the hippocampus, and displayed neuroprotection in Nissl staining. Besides, both compounds 3 and 16 had high safety (LD50 > 1000 mg/kg). Longer plasma half-life of compounds 3 and 16 than melatonin supported combination strategy. All these results demonstrated that N-salicyloyl tryptamine derivatives are potential anti-neuroinflammation agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohong Fan
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Junfang Li
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Xuemei Deng
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Yingmei Lu
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Yiyue Feng
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Shumeng Ma
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Huaixiu Wen
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810000, China
| | - Quanyi Zhao
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Wen Tan
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Tao Shi
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
| | - Zhen Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China; State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
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