MELATONIN: from synthesis to the mechanism of action
The biosynthesis originates from tryptophan, which is found abundantly in bananas, dates, peanuts, milk, etc.
BIOLOGICAL SUMMARY
The biosynthesis originates from tryptophan, an essential amino acid that cannot form the human body, and must therefore be introduced with the diet. In food, tryptophan is found abundantly in bananas, dates, peanuts, milk, etc. etc. The transformation of tryptophan into melatonin takes place in successive points and times: in the pineal gland, retina, platelets, ovaries and other organs as a function of the day-night rhythm.
In physiological conditions, melatonin is produced with a circadian rhythmic pattern based on 24 hours, characterized by very low levels during the day, and by a nocturnal increase, as the activity of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (biological clock that regulates circadian rhythms) of the hypothalamus is synchronized to the day / night rhythm by the luminous information, which arrives from the retina through the retino-hypothalamic tract. The peak of secretion occurs in the middle of the night between 2 and 4 am and gradually decays during the second half of the night. On average, the plasma concentration of melatonin during the day is 10 pg / ml, with a nocturnal peak of 70-100 pg / ml.
The serum concentration also varies with age. Below 3 months, melatonin secretion is very poor; in childhood it increases and becomes circadian with a highest nocturnal peak between 1-3 years (325 pg / ml), after which it gradually declines. In young adults, day and night concentrations reach average. A gradual decrease is observed in the elderly.
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