Melatonin scavenges phenylglyoxylic ketyl radicals.
The antioxidant properties of melatonin were tested in this work by EPR technique. It was found that melatonin scavenges phenylglyoxylic ketyl radicals. Its effectiveness was 10-times lower than that of vitamin C. A new method of generation of phenylglyoxylic ketyl radicals by spontaneous decomposition of D,L-2,3-diphenyltartaric acid in propan-2-ol was used.
[Use of phenylglyoxylic ketyl radicals in testing for antioxidative effects of various compounds].
The paper describes spontaneous decomposition of D,L-2,3-diphenyltartaric acid in propane-2-ol, which takes place via radicals at ambient temperature. The primary product of the decomposition is short-living ketyl radicals of phenylglyoxalic acid, which are captured and stabilized by means of the spin trap of N-terc-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone. The spontaneous decomposition of D,L-2,3-diphenyltartaric acid in propane-2-ol served as the source of radicals for the determination of the antioxidative effect of known antioxidants: C-vitamin, E-vitamin, and selenomethionine. It was found that the above-mentioned antioxidants are effective scavengers of radicals of phenylglyoxalic acid. On the basis of these data, the method can be recommended for testing the antioxidative properties of other substances as potential antioxidants.
The immuno-reconstituting effectof melatonin or pineal grafting and its relation to zinc pool in aging mice
It has been demonstrated that melatonin, the main neuro-hormone of the pineal gland, affects thymic functions and the regulation of the immune system. In addition, experimental evidences indicate that melatonin can modulate zinc turnover. The knowledge that with advancing age both melatonin and zinc plasma levels decline, and that zinc supplementation in old mice is able to restore the reduced immunological functions, has prompted investigations on the effect of chronic melatonin treatment or pineal graft in old mice on the age-related decline of thymic endocrine activity, peripheral immune functions and zinc turnover. Both melatonin treatment in old mice and pineal graft into the thymus of old mice correct the reduced thymic endocrine activity and increase the weight of the thymus and its cellularity. A restoration of cortical thymic volume, as detected by the percentage of tissue in active proliferation, is also observed in old mice after both treatments. Thymocyte CD phenotype expression is also restored to young values. At peripheral level, recovery of peripheral blood lymphocyte number and of spleen cell subsets, with increased mitogen responsiveness also occurs. Melatonin treatment or pineal graft induce also a restoration of the altered zinc turnover in aged mice with an increment of the crude zinc balance from negative (-1.6 microgram/day/mouse) to positive value (+1.2 microgram/day/mouse), similar to that one of young mice (+1.4 microgram/day/mouse). The reduced zinc plasma level is restored to normal values. These findings support the idea that the effect of melatonin on thymic endocrine activity and peripheral immune functions may be mediated by the zinc pool.