Deseret News Archives ... December 12, 1995 ... Reuter News Service
A series of books extolling the virtues of the naturally produced hormone have caused a stampede to health stores, with U.S. consumers sweeping melatonin tablets from the shelves. Such passionate American espousal has alarmed British regulators, who have ordered it to be made available only on prescription.
Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland, a pea-size organ in the center of the brain. It works with the neuro-trans-mitter serotonin to regulate sleep. Secreted naturally as darkness falls, it regulates fertility in animals and governs the sleep cycle. Children produce it in large quantities, but production falls with age, dropping steeply in middle age.
It is known to help regulate sleep in people with sleep disorders and is prescribed in Britain to help counteract jet lag. ``It does have some free radical scavenging activity,'' said Dr. Josephine Arendt, an endocrinologist at the University of Surrey in southern England. ``But I have yet to see any evidence of this in humans.' Arendt says there is good evidence that taking synthesized melatonin tablets helps prevent jet lag and regulates sleep patterns in some people. Arendt, who said she tested the hormone on herself before using it on humans, said other claims were not borne out. ``I have personally taken it since 1981, and I have, in the process, become old, gray, wrinkled and fat,'' she said.
She added: ``You should not even consider taking melatonin from any animal source.''
Most of the companies that make melatonin tablets keep its formula secret. But some scientists working with the hormone describe getting it from rats that have been whisked up in a blender, while other sources may include cattle.
Children given human growth hormone from corpses have developed Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a fatal nerve disorder that turns the brain spongy. There are fears that people can get CJD from exposure to infected brain tissue from cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease).
There is a more natural source - melatonin is secreted into urine at night. Those seeking a truly natural dose could follow the ancient practice of Indian yogis and drink their own urine each morning.
What about melatonin? It has been sold in Europe and the US for years and is very popular in health food circles and as a food supplement for vegetarians. Many brands of so called "Natural Melatonin" (non-synthetic) are prepared from bovine pineal glands.