Department of Advanced General Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2024 Jun;12(3):e1205. doi: 10.1002/prp2.1205.
This study aimed to examine the effect of acute exogenous melatonin administration on salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sCort and sAA) as representatives of the HPA axis and the sympathetic nervous system, respectively. A single-dose prolonged-release melatonin (2 mg) or a placebo tablet was given to healthy volunteers (n = 64) at 20:00 h in a crossover design. The saliva was collected at six time points (20:00, 21:00, awakening, 30 min after awakening, 10:00, and 12:00 h) and was measured for sCort, sAA, and salivary melatonin (sMT) levels. Pulse rates and sleep parameters were also collected. Melatonin was effective in improving sleep onset latency by 7:04 min (p = .037) and increasing total sleep time by 24 min (p = .006). Participants with poor baseline sleep quality responded more strongly to melatonin than participants with normal baseline sleep quality as they reported more satisfaction in having adequate sleep (p = .017). Melatonin administration resulted in higher sCort levels at awakening time point (p = .023) and a tendency of lower sAA levels but these were not significant. Melatonin ingestion at 20:00 h resulted in a marked increase in sMT levels at 21:00 h and remained higher than baseline up to at least 10:00 h (p < .001). Melatonin increases sCort levels at certain time point with a tendency to lower sAA levels. These opposing effects of melatonin suggested a complex interplay between melatonin and these biomarkers. Also, the results confirmed the positive acute effect of a single-dose melatonin on sleep quality.
本研究旨在探讨急性外源性褪黑素给药对唾液皮质醇（sCort）和唾液淀粉酶（sAA）的影响，这两种物质分别代表下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴和交感神经系统。采用交叉设计，将单剂量缓释褪黑素（2mg）或安慰剂片于 20 时给 64 名健康志愿者服用。分别在 20 时、21 时、觉醒时、觉醒后 30 分钟、10 时和 12 时 6 个时间点采集唾液，并检测 sCort、sAA 和唾液褪黑素（sMT）水平。同时还收集了脉搏率和睡眠参数。褪黑素可有效改善入睡潜伏期，缩短 7.04 分钟（p=0.037），增加总睡眠时间 24 分钟（p=0.006）。与基线睡眠质量正常的参与者相比，基线睡眠质量较差的参与者对褪黑素的反应更为强烈，他们报告说睡眠充足的满意度更高（p=0.017）。褪黑素给药使觉醒时的 sCort 水平升高（p=0.023），sAA 水平有降低的趋势，但无统计学意义。20 时服用褪黑素可使 21 时 sMT 水平显著升高，并至少持续到 10 时（p<0.001）。褪黑素在某些时间点增加 sCort 水平，而在某些时间点降低 sAA 水平。褪黑素的这些相反作用表明褪黑素和这些生物标志物之间存在复杂的相互作用。此外，研究结果证实了单剂量褪黑素对睡眠质量的积极急性作用。
