An age-related decline in melatonin secretion is not altered by food restriction

• Published in: The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. B21 - B26
• Main Authors: MacGibbon, M F, Walls, R S, Everitt, A V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Oxford University Press 01-01-2001
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aging; Animals; Body Weight; Circadian Rhythm; Diet; Food Deprivation - physiology; Humans; Male; Melatonin - metabolism; Melatonin - urine; Metabolism; Models, Animal; Older people; Radioimmunoassay; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Regression Analysis
• ISSN: 1079-5006; 1758-535X
• DOI: 10.1093/gerona/56.1.B21

Melatonin has been found to exhibit youth-maintaining and disease-preventing properties. The current study examined whether the age-retarding regimen of chronic food restriction (FR) slowed the decline in melatonin secretion reported to occur with age. Total nocturnal melatonin secretion was assessed by radioimmunoassay of the primary metabolite, 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (6-S-OH-MLT), in urine. Measurements were made through adulthood (70 to 765 days) on male Wistar rats maintained on the FR regimen (60% of the normal intake) with the control animals fed ad libitum (AL). The data of animals exhibiting gross pathology were excluded. Analyses of covariance found the FR regimen had no effect on either the levels or pattern of decline observed in 6-S-OH-MLT excretion through adulthood. However, the FR body-weight-indexed metabolite measures were approximately double those of the AL (p = .06). The possibility that this result may reflect unusually high melatonin peaks in the FR tissues is discussed.