Melatonin is good for the heart
"Sleep hormone" protects against heart failure, Pushchina scientists found out
Ekaterina Borovikova, ITEB RAS Press Service
Scientists from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences found out in experiments on rats that the "sleep hormone", melatonin, supports the functioning of the cellular structures of mitochondria, which produce the energy necessary for the heart to work.
"We have shown that with regular use of melatonin in old rats, the area of damage to the heart muscle in acute heart failure decreased," said Irina Odinikova, a researcher at the Laboratory of Pharmacological Regulation of Cell Resistance at ITEB.
The study was conducted on 12 rats, which were divided into four groups. In the first and third groups, the rats drank ordinary water, for the second and fourth, melatonin was mixed into it. Two months later, rats from the third and fourth groups were injected with isoprenaline, a substance that causes heart failure in them, and animals from the first two groups were given a harmless saline solution.
A study of the heart tissues of all rats participating in the experiment showed that in those animals that received melatonin, the damage to the heart tissues after administration of isoprenaline turned out to be less pronounced due to the fact that melatonin eliminated the negative effects of isoprenaline on the mitochondria of heart tissue cells.
Mitochondria are called energy stations of cells, since these structures produce ATP molecules – a universal source of energy for any cellular processes. In particular, ATP is necessary for the contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers. Therefore, a violation of mitochondrial functions leads to the development of cardiac pathologies. In patients and animals with heart failure, there is a decrease in the mitochondrial potential necessary for the synthesis of ATP, an increase in the formation of reactive oxygen species, overload of mitochondria with calcium and swelling of mitochondria, leading to rupture of mitochondrial membranes and death of mitochondria and the cell as a whole. Melatonin, being an antioxidant, has a beneficial effect on the work of mitochondria and plays an important role in protecting the heart in heart failure.
Melatonin is a hormone that all living organisms have, starting with bacteria. With aging, stress and the development of certain diseases, the level of melatonin decreases. Melatonin does not accumulate in cells, but its synthesis is activated at night, so to increase it, it is necessary to observe a sleep regime and sleep in the dark. Also, the synthesis of melatonin is facilitated by the consumption of foods containing the precursor of melatonin – tryptophan. For example, bananas, turkey, chicken, soft cheese, pumpkin seeds, almonds.
Article by Odinokova et al. The Effect of Melatonin on Rat Heart Mitochondria in Acute Heart Failure in Aged Rats is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
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