Melatonin: A potent antioxidant agent with anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects that might be useful in the treatment of IBD patients

Melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine), a derivative of the essential amino acid tryptophan, is an indolamine hormone secreted throughout the day. This hormonal molecule is produced mainly in the pineal gland although various other tissues including the gastrointestinal tract are sites of production. Melatonin is an agent that promotes sleep produced mainly at night. It is secreted in the retina, salivary glands, thyroid, liver and intestine, thus playing a fundamental role in the neuroimmunoendocrine system of the organism. In the intestine, locally synthesized melatonin is released by enterochromaffin cells in much larger amounts than in the pineal gland. Melatonin has a circadian entrainment and is excreted in the bile participating in the entero-hepatic circulation.