Nagata Chisato, Nagao Yasuko, Shibuya Chiken, Kashiki Yoshitomo, Shimizu Hiroyuki
Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, 502-1194 Gifu, Japan.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 May;14(5):1333-5. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-04-0915.
Melatonin is present in plants consumed as vegetables; however, only a limited number of vegetables have been tested for melatonin. The antiproliferative, antioxidative, and immunostimulatory effects of melatonin have been reported from laboratory studies. The potential protective effects of vegetable against cancer and cardiovascular disease may be partially attributable to an increased melatonin intake from vegetables. As a first step to test this hypothesis, we evaluated whether vegetable intake is associated with an increased urinary melatonin in 289 community-dwelling Japanese women. Diet, including vegetable consumption, was assessed with a validated 169-item semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6-s) was measured in the first-void morning urines. There was a significant positive association between vegetable intake and urinary aMT6-s levels. The mean urinary aMT6-s was 16% higher in women with the highest quartile of vegetable intake than it was in those with the lowest quartile of intake. This association may be explained by the melatonin contained in vegetables. However, data should be regarded as preliminary because it is impossible to estimate dietary melatonin intake from vegetables and or from the entire diet because of incomplete data for melatonin in plants.
褪黑素存在于作为蔬菜食用的植物中；然而，仅对有限数量的蔬菜进行了褪黑素检测。实验室研究报告了褪黑素的抗增殖、抗氧化和免疫刺激作用。蔬菜对癌症和心血管疾病的潜在保护作用可能部分归因于从蔬菜中摄入的褪黑素增加。作为检验这一假设的第一步，我们评估了289名日本社区居住女性的蔬菜摄入量是否与尿褪黑素增加有关。通过一份经过验证的包含169个项目的半定量食物频率问卷对饮食（包括蔬菜消费）进行评估。在晨尿首次排尿时测量尿6-硫酸氧基褪黑素（aMT6-s）。蔬菜摄入量与尿aMT6-s水平之间存在显著正相关。蔬菜摄入量最高四分位数的女性的平均尿aMT6-s比摄入量最低四分位数的女性高16%。这种关联可能由蔬菜中含有的褪黑素解释。然而，这些数据应被视为初步数据，因为由于植物中褪黑素的数据不完整，无法估计从蔬菜或整个饮食中摄入的膳食褪黑素。
