Elmahallawy Ehab Kotb, Luque Javier Ortega, Aloweidi Abdelkarim Saleh, Gutiérrez-Fernández José, Sampedro-Martínez Antonio, Rodriguez-Granger Javier, Kaki Abdullah, Agil Ahmad
Department of Zoonotic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Curr Med Chem. 2015;22(33):3848-61. doi: 10.2174/0929867322666150827093730.
Melatonin, a tryptophan-derived neurohormone found in animals, plants, and microbes, participates in various biological and physiological functions. Among other properties, numerous in vitro or in vivo studies have reported its therapeutic potential against many parasites, bacteria and viruses. In this concern, melatonin was found to be effective against many parasites such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma gondii, and Trypansoma cruzi, via various mechanisms such as modulation of calcium level and/or host immune system. Likewise, a recent investigation has reported in vitro activity of melatonin against Leishmania infantum promastigotes which is the causative agent of fascinating visceral Leishmaniasis. This review was initially undertaken to summarize some facts about certain physiological and therapeutic effects of melatonin. It also reviews the effects and action mechanisms of melatonin in bacterial and viral infection besides biology of different parasites which may provide a promising strategy for control of many diseases of public health importance.
褪黑素是一种在动物、植物和微生物中发现的由色氨酸衍生而来的神经激素，参与各种生物学和生理功能。在其他特性中，大量的体外或体内研究报告了其对许多寄生虫、细菌和病毒的治疗潜力。在这方面，发现褪黑素通过调节钙水平和/或宿主免疫系统等各种机制，对许多寄生虫如疟原虫、弓形虫和克氏锥虫有效。同样，最近的一项研究报告了褪黑素对婴儿利什曼原虫前鞭毛体的体外活性，婴儿利什曼原虫是迷人的内脏利什曼病的病原体。本综述最初旨在总结关于褪黑素某些生理和治疗作用的一些事实。它还回顾了褪黑素在细菌和病毒感染中的作用及作用机制，以及不同寄生虫的生物学特性，这可能为控制许多具有公共卫生重要性的疾病提供一个有前景的策略。
