Melatonin

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What is Melatonin?  Melatonin is a hormone primarily released by the pineal gland at night, and has long been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle.

History of Melatonin  In 1958, dermatology professor Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues at Yale University, in the hope that a substance from the pineal might be useful in treating skin diseases, isolated the hormone from bovine pineal gland extracts and named it melatonin. In the mid-70s Lynch et al. demonstrated that the production of melatonin exhibits a circadian rhythm in human pineal glands.

The discovery that melatonin is an antioxidant was made in 1993. The first patent for its use as a low-dose sleep aid was granted to Richard Wurtman at MIT in 1995.

Sources of Melatonin  Naturally-occurring melatonin has been reported in foods including tart cherries to about 0.17–13.46 ng/g, bananas and grapes, rice and cereals, herbs, plums, olive oil, wine, and beer.