Melatonin: Production, Functions and Benefits

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Series: Biochemistry Research Trends
BISAC: SCI007000

The exponential influx of scientific research on melatonin is associated with a greater orientation towards the study of the systemic effects of melatonin and their derivatives, as well as their clinical implications. Proof of this fact is summarized in the present compilation, where melatonin is presented as a remarkable agent to counteract most of the physiopathological events that trigger several disorders. The book also collects evidence about melatonin’s interactions with two high-affinity G protein-coupled receptors to provide new pharmacological targets for the treatment of cancer, neurological or endocrine conditions. The present review also includes detailed coverage of molecules with improved safety profiles and melatonin receptor agonists (such as ramelteon, tasimelteon, and agomelatine), and the latest findings on the role of melatonin in protecting plants from abiotic stress, improving their resistance to adverse conditions, regulating several environmental stresses including heat stress, as well as the clinical use of melatonin in the treatment of fertility-related problems and reproductive health.

The multiplicity of actions of melatonin, including modulating immune responses and inflammation and maintaining mitochondrial integrity, make this indoleamine a valuable therapeutic agent in the treatment of neurodegeneration, polycystic ovary syndrome, brain ischemia and traumatic brain injury, fibromyalgia, optic neuritis and glaucoma, alone or in combination with other drugs.
Melatonin easily crosses the blood-brain and placental barriers. In this sense, this book provides a complete review suggesting that melatonin supplementation should be considered as a potential disease-preventing agent, with the aim of extending pregnancy duration to improve clinical outcomes and prevent fetal brain damage for pregnancy pathologies, such as preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction and preterm birth.

Within the last few decades, melatonin has emerged in clinical oncology as a naturally occurring bioactive molecule with substantial anticancer properties. In addition, this chronobiotic agent exerts oncostatic effects throughout all stages of tumor growth, from initial cell transformation to mitigation of malignant progression and metastasis. Its therapeutic applications in oral cancer, gastrointestinal pathologies and colorectal cancer are discussed, as well as its applications as an adjuvant for alleviating side-effects and improving the welfare of radio/chemotherapy-treated patients.

In the final chapter, the authors summarize the indications for the development of new galenic formulations of melatonin. Thus, different melatonin formulations, such as intranasal solutions, sprays, microspheres, gels and liposomes would allow for the maintenance of endogenous active concentrations for a long time, avoiding poor oral bioavailability.

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Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Scientific Production on Melatonin from a Bibliometric Perspective
(Francisco López-Muñoz, Francisco J. Povedano, Alejandro Romero and Cecilio Álamo, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Camilo José Cela, Madrid, Spain, and others)

Chapter 2. Function and Pharmacology of Melatonin Receptors
(Anna Karynna A. A. Rocha and Edilson D. Da Silva Junior, Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil, and others)

Chapter 3. The Ubiquity and Role of Melatonin in Plant Metabolism and Response to Abiotic Stress
(Elvisa Hodzic, Milica Balaban, Biljana Kukavica and Sebila Rekanovic, University of Bihać, Biotechnical Faculty, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and others)

Chapter 4. Synchronization of the Circadian Rhythms by Melatonin in Vertebrate and Invertebrate Species
(Leonor Mendoza-Vargas, Elizabeth Garneros-Bañuelos, Ramón Alvarado-Álvarez, Zuly A. Sánchez-Florentino, Edgar Flores-Soto, Luis M. Montaño, Bettina Sommers, Arnoldo Aquino-Gálvez, Marcela Valdés-Tovar, Gloria Benítez-King and Hector Solís-Chagoyán, Departamento El Hombre y su Ambiente, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Xochimilco, CDMX, México, and others)

Chapter 5. Extrapineal Melatonin: A Hormonal Microcircuit for Local Adaptations
(Sameer Gupta, Jayita Pal Chowdhury and Chandana Haldar, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India)

Chapter 6. Heat Stress Amelioration Effects of Melatonin in Goats
(Mullakkalparambil Velayudhan Silpa, Mini Ravi Reshma Nair, Joseph Perumbilly Anisha, Veettiparambil Pandarathil Rashamol and Veerasamy Sejian, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Adugodi, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, and others)

Chapter 7. Melatonin and Its Functions in Andrology
(P. Perumal, Division of Animal Science, ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India)

Chapter 8. Environmental Toxicant Compromised Reproductive Health: Rescue by Melatonin
(Jitendra Kumar, Shruti R. Hansda, Sriparna Pal, Chandana Haldar, RakeshVerma, Pineal Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Chapter 9. Melatonin as an Adjuvant Therapy in the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Focusing on the Overweight/Obese Phenotype
(Eduardo Spinedi, Hugo E. Scaglia and Daniel P. Cardinali, Centre for Experimental and Applied Endocrinology, UNLP-CONICET-CEASCICPBA, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and others)

Chapter 10. The Role of Melatonin in Neurodegeneration
(Pınar Atukeren, Hafize Uzun, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey)

Chapter 11. Cerebral Ischemia and Traumatic Brain Injury: Protection by Melatonin
(Eva Ramos, Francisco López-Muñoz, Javier Egea, Alejandro Romero, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, and others)

Chapter 12. The Effects of Melatonin on Fetal Neuroprotection
(Anna Karynna A. A. Rocha and Karyanna Alves A. Rocha Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil, and others)

Chapter 13. Melatonin Protects the Optic Nerve and the Retina against Experimental Optic Neuritis and Glaucoma
(Marcos L. Aranda, María F. González Fleitas, María C. Moreno, Nicolás A. Belforte, Hernán H. Diéguez, Juan S. Calanni, Julián D. Devouassoux, Mónica Chianelli, María I. Keller Sarmiento, Pablo H. Sande, Damián Dorfman and Ruth E. Rosenstein, Laboratorio de Neuroquímica Retiniana y Oftalmología Experimental, Departamento de Bioquímica Humana, Facultad de Medicina/CEFyBO, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Chapter 14. Melatonin Benefits in Oral Cancer
(Ana Capote-Moreno, Alejandro Romero, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital La Princesa, Madrid, Spain, and others)

Chapter 15. Synthesis, Localization and Biological Effects of Melatonin on Intact and Diseased Intestine
(Gabriela Díaz de Barboza, Romina Kohan, Gabriela Picotto, Germán Talamoni, Alejandro Collin, Vanessa Areco, María Elena Peralta López, and Nori Tolosa de Talamoni, Laboratorio “Dr. Fernando Cañas”, Cátedra de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, INICSA [CONICET-Universidad de Córdoba] Córdoba, Argentina, and others)

Chapter 16. The Role of Melatonin in Fibromyalgia Syndrome
(Andrei Pereira Pernambuco, Camila Medeiros Costa, Victor de Paula Borges, Matheus Augusto Teixeira dos Santos, Fernanda Coutinho Oliveira and Natane Moreira de Carvalho, Centro Universitário de Formiga-MG, Formiga, Minas Gerais, Brasil, and others)

Chapter 17. Clinical Use of Melatonin in the Treatment of Sleep Disorders and Future Prospects
(Alexander Zakharov, Elena Khivintseva, Irina Poverennova, Vladimir Kalinin and Vasily Pyatin, Department Neurology and Neurosurgery, Samara State Medical University, Samara, Russia)

Chapter 18. Galenic Forms for Melatonin: Present and Future
(Pilar García-García, Francisco López-Muñoz and Cecilio Álamo, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain, and others)

Index

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