Pérez-Llamas Francisca, Hernández-Ruiz Josefa, Cuesta Alberto, Zamora Salvador, Arnao Marino B
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
Department of Plant Biology, (Plant Physiology), Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Feb 16;9(2):158. doi: 10.3390/antiox9020158.
Melatonin is a pleiotropic molecule with multiple and various functions. In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in the consumption of melatonin supplements for reasons other than those related with sleep (as an antioxidant, for anti-aging, and as a hunger regulator). Although the chemical synthesis of melatonin has recently been improved, several unwanted by-products of the chemical reactions involved occur as contaminants. Phytomelatonin, melatonin of plant origin, was discovered in several plants in 1995, and the possibility of using raw plant material as a source to obtain dietary supplements rich in phytomelatonin instead of synthetic melatonin, with its corresponding chemical by-products was raised. This work characterizes the phytomelatonin-rich extract obtained from selected plant material and determines the contents in phytomelatonin, phenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids. Additionally, the antioxidant activity was measured. Finally, a melatonin-specific bioassay in fish was carried out to demonstrate the excellent biological properties of the natural phytomelatonin-rich extract obtained.
褪黑素是一种具有多种功能的多效性分子。近年来，除了与睡眠相关的原因外，出于其他原因（如作为抗氧化剂、用于抗衰老以及作为饥饿调节剂）而服用褪黑素补充剂的情况大幅增加。尽管褪黑素的化学合成最近有所改进，但化学反应中涉及的几种不需要的副产物会作为污染物出现。植物褪黑素，即植物来源的褪黑素，于1995年在几种植物中被发现，于是有人提出利用原始植物材料作为来源来获取富含植物褪黑素的膳食补充剂，以替代合成褪黑素及其相应的化学副产物。这项工作对从选定植物材料中获得的富含植物褪黑素的提取物进行了表征，并测定了其中植物褪黑素、酚类、黄酮类和类胡萝卜素的含量。此外，还测量了抗氧化活性。最后，在鱼类中进行了褪黑素特异性生物测定，以证明所获得的天然富含植物褪黑素的提取物具有优异的生物学特性。
