Hattori A, Migitaka H, Iigo M, Itoh M, Yamamoto K, Ohtani-Kaneko R, Hara M, Suzuki T, Reiter R J
Department of Anatomy, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
Biochem Mol Biol Int. 1995 Mar;35(3):627-34.
Twenty-four edible plants were investigated for the presence of melatonin, heretofore considered to be a molecule found only in the animal kingdom. The amount of melatonin in different plants varied greatly with highest melatonin being present in plants of the rice family. Melatonin was identified by radioimmunoassay and verified by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Feeding a diet containing plant products rich in melatonin to chicks increased radioimmunoassayable levels of melatonin in their blood. Likewise, melatonin extracted from plants inhibited binding of [125I]iodomelatonin to rabbit brain. Thus, melatonin ingested in foodstuffs enters the blood and is capable of binding to melatonin binding sites in the brain of mammals.
对24种可食用植物进行了褪黑素含量的调查，此前人们认为褪黑素是一种仅在动物界发现的分子。不同植物中褪黑素的含量差异很大，其中禾本科植物中的褪黑素含量最高。通过放射免疫分析法鉴定褪黑素，并通过高效液相色谱荧光检测法进行验证。给雏鸡喂食含有富含褪黑素的植物产品的饲料，可提高其血液中可通过放射免疫分析法检测到的褪黑素水平。同样，从植物中提取的褪黑素可抑制[125I]碘褪黑素与兔脑的结合。因此，食物中摄入的褪黑素可进入血液，并能够与哺乳动物大脑中的褪黑素结合位点结合。
