Melatonin

Rare card · No. 56378

Melatonin is an indoleamine compound produced by various organisms, including bacteria and eukaryotes. It was discovered in 1958 by Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues in substance from the pineal gland of cows that could induce skin lightening in common frogs. The secretion of melatonin is influenced by the circadian rhythm, and it plays a role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle in vertebrates. In vertebrates, melatonin functions to affect the timing of sleep-wake cycles, encompassing sleep-wake timing and blood pressure regulation, as well as controlling seasonal rhythmicity (circannual cycle), which includes reproduction, fattening, molting, and hibernation. Its effects are mediated through the activation of melatonin receptors and its activity as an antioxidant. In vertebrates, circulating melatonin is primary secreted from the pineal gland in response to darkness. In plants and bacteria, it serves as a defense mechanism against oxidative stress. Melatonin is also synthesized in mitochondria...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Lukáš Mižoch, Public domain