Melatonin -- powerful antioxidant, mitochondrial resuscitator, anti cancer agent

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Antioxidant:

Melatonin is one of the most potent antioxidants known. It has

ubiquitous actions, both as a direct and indirect antioxidant and

free radical scavenger. Besides directly detoxifying a variety of

highly reactive molecules, melatonin also stimulates antioxidative

enzymes. Additionally, one of the byproducts formed from melatonin’s

interaction with free radicals, N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-

methoxykynuramine, is itself a potent free radical scavenger that is

at least as potent an antioxidant as melatonin itself. This ability

to induce this “antioxidant cascade†serves to increase melatonin’s

effectiveness for resisting oxidative damage.

Mitochondrial Resuscitator

In addition to its profound antioxidant properties, melatonin also

stimulates electron transport and ATP production in the inner-

mitochondrial membrane, thereby acting as a potent mitochondrial

resuscitator.10

Scientists at UC Irvine fed melatonin to adult mice for six months to

determine its effects on age-associated changes in brain-

mitochondrial-electron-transport- chain-enzyme activities. They

discovered that while cytochrome c oxidase (Complex IV) activity

decreases with age, supplementation with melatonin effectively

restored activity to the levels of young animals.11

Cancer

Melatonin has been shown to have significant anti-cancer properties

in cellular (in vitro), animal, and human studies. For example,

scientists in China found that melatonin significantly inhibited the

growth of hepatocarcinoma (liver cancer) cells by inducing apoptosis

(“cell suicideâ€) and by extending the length of the cell cycle (i.e.,

reducing the speed of replication) of the tumor cells.21 Melatonin

has also been shown to inhibit the growth of mammary tumors in

animals.22

A number of human clinical studies have incorporated melatonin in the

treatment of cancer †" both as a single agent, and in combination with

other therapies. Melatonin is usually taken in a dose of 20 mg at

bedtime when used as adjunctive therapy for cancer, although dosages

as high as 40 mg nightly have been used. Melatonin appears to enhance

the efficacy of other forms of cancer treatment, reduces adverse side

effects of the other treatments, increases survival and improves the

patients’ quality of life.23