Melatonin helps Offset Cell Damage Caused by Strenuous Exercise

by | Jan 27, 2016 | 2011, Alternative Therapies, Fitness and Exercise, Melatonin

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Runners supplemented 3mg of melatonin had 43.5% lower levels in markers of oxidative stress.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends 60 minutes of exercise per week for children 6 to 17 years of age and 150 minutes per week and 3 days of strenuous moderate-intensity exercise and 2 days of muscle-strengthening exercises for adults 18 and older (1). It’s difficult to overstate the importance of exercise in health, due to its numerous health benefits including a lower risk of all-cause mortality by helping reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes (2, 3, 4).

But just as you can have too much of a good thing, this also applies to exercise, since strenuous exercise can cause muscle damage (5) resulting in a high production of free radicals and an increase in inflammation (6). As a result, ways to help offset the cell damage caused by strenuous exercise are highly sought after.

Now a new study (7) suggests that melatonin, a hormone with free radical scavenging properties superior to that of both vitamins C and E (8), may help. In the study, 20 highly trained amateur athletes completed a high-intensity 50-kilometer run that was almost all on an incline in a high-altitude setting that started at 640 meters above sea level and finished at 3,393 meters above sea level. Ten of the subjects were given melatonin (3 mg per day two days before the run, 9 mg per day one day before the run, 3 mg per day on the day of the run) and 10 subjects were given a placebo. Blood and urine samples were provided before and after the run.

Before the run started, those in the melatonin group had twenty-two times higher blood levels compared to the placebo group (1068 versus 45.68 picorams/milliliter, p < 0.05). Those in the melatonin group had a 93.1% decline after the race (1068 to 74.24 pg/mL, p < 0.05), those in the placebo group saw a 99.4% decline (45.68 to 0.28 pg/mL) and eventually had 99.7% lower melatonin levels after the race compared to the melatonin group (0.28 vs. 74.24 pg/mL, p < 0.05).

When looking at total antioxidant status, those in the melatonin group had 10% higher levels before the race (15.06 vs. 13.69 nanmoles/milligram of protein) and 19.1% higher levels after the race (16.90 vs. 14.18 nmol/mg protein, p < 0.05). For cell damage as measured in the urine in the form of isoprostanes, those in the melatonin group had 33.9% lower levels before the race (0.78 versus 1.18 nanograms/milliliter) and  43.1% lower levels after the race (3.32 versus 5.83 ng/mL, p < 0.05).

When looking at inflammation, those in the melatonin group had 11.2% lower levels of an anti-inflammatory protein called Plasma IL-1 ra (9) before the run (40 vs. 45 picograms/milliter) but 41.3% higher levels after the run (530 vs. 375 pcg/mL, p < 0.05), demonstrating melatonin’s ability to not only maintain cell health but also healthy levels of inflammation during strenuous exercise.

For the researchers, “the present findings provide evidence that oral supplementation of melatonin during high intensity exercise is efficient in reducing the oxidative stress which would lead to the maintenance of the cell integrity” and that “melatonin administration has potent protective effects.”

Source: Ochoa, Julio J., et al. “Melatonin supplementation ameliorates oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling induced by strenuous exercise in adult human males.” Journal of pineal research 51.4 (2011): 373-380.

© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S

Posted February 24, 2014.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

  1. “How Much Physical Activity Do  You Need?” posted on the Centers for Disease Control Website.
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  3. Hayes C, Kriska A. Role of physical activity in diabetes management and prevention. J Am Diet Assoc 2008; 108:S19– S23.
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  5. Armstrong RB, Ogilvie RW, Schwane JA. Eccentric exercise induced injury to rat skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol 1983; 54:80–93.
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  7. Ochoa JJ.  Melatonin supplementation ameliorates oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling induced by strenuous exercise in adult human males. J. Pineal Res. 2011; 51:373–380 Doi:10.1111/j.1600-079X.2011.00899.x.
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