• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1496-1502
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• 2007

The roles of melatonin in the control of deiodinase (MD) activity in cashmere goat skin and associated cashmere fibre growth were investigated. Eighteen half-sib Chinese Inner Mongolia cashmere wethers were allocated randomly to two groups (n = 9/group). One group was implanted subcutaneously with melatonin (2 mg/kg BW) at three 2-monthly intervals while the other group served as a control. All goats were maintained under natural photoperiodic conditions and were grazed on natural pasture. The plasma melatonin concentration showed a significant difference (p<0.01) between the implant group (M) and the control group (C) but plasma $T_4$ (or $T_3$) showed no significant difference (p>0.05). The monodeiodinase type II (MDII) activity in skin tended to increase gradually from the summer solstice to November. During July and August, the activity of MDII for the M group was higher (p<0.05) than that of the C group; also during this period, there was a significant positive correlation between MDII activity of skin and cashmere fibre growth rate. The monodeiodinase type III (MDIII) activity and the ratio of MDIII and MDII tended to decrease from the summer solstice to November. The ratio of MDIII and MDII for the M group was lower (p<0.05) than that of the C group in July and August. The cashmere fibre growth rate of the M group was significantly greater than that of the C group in July (p<0.01), August (p<0.001) and September (p<0.05). The cashmere fibre diameter and guard hair and body weight were not influenced (p>0.05) by melatonin implantation. The results demonstrate that melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of skin MD activity. Simultaneously, the cashmere fibre elongation stimulated by melatonin may result from enhanced MDII activity during a period of two months after melatonin treatment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.605-610
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• 2013

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid widely present in organisms, which has shown several important physiological functions such as neurotransmission, hypotension induction, as well as diuretic and tranquilizer effects. They have also been extensively used in food industry. GABA contents in the grain and brown rice are about 1~4 mg/100 g and 4~8 mg/100 g, respectively but it is difficult to expect physiological activity from such low amounts of natural food intake. We investigate the effects of GABA-coated rice on the secretion of melatonin and serotonin which both have been used as sleep inductive compounds. As a result, the secretion of melatonin and serotonin from mice were found to be $3.578{\pm}0.158pg/mL$, $5.918{\pm}0.169ng/mL$ respectively. The melatonin and serotonin in mice increased significantly up to the 8.7 and 22.8 times respectively, when compared to that of the rice, but there was no cumulative effects. Due to the continuous intake of GABA-coated rice, which was developed as a functional food nutrient, inductive effects of melatonin and serotonin from general rice could be achieved and also the similar effect as taking up directly 25 mg/mL of GABA could be obtained.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2023

Aristolochic acid (AA), extracted from Aristolochiaceae plants, plays an essential role in traditional herbal medicines and is used for different diseases. However, AA has been found to be nephrotoxic and is known to cause aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). AA-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is a syndrome in AAN with a high morbidity that manifests mitochondrial damage as a key part of its pathological progression. Melatonin primarily serves as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant. However, its mitochondrial protective role in AA-induced AKI is barely reported. In this study, mice were administrated 2.5 mg/kg AA to induce AKI. Melatonin reduced the increase in Upro and Scr and attenuated the necrosis and atrophy of renal proximal tubules in mice exposed to AA. Melatonin suppressed ROS generation, MDA levels and iNOS expression and increased SOD activities in vivo and in vitro. Intriguingly, the in vivo study revealed that melatonin decreased mitochondrial fragmentation in renal proximal tubular cells and increased ATP levels in kidney tissues in response to AA. In vitro, melatonin restored the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in NRK-52E and HK-2 cells and led to an elevation in ATP levels. Confocal immunofluorescence data showed that puncta containing Mito-tracker and GFP-LC3A/B were reduced, thereby impeding the mitophagy of tubular epithelial cells. Furthermore, melatonin decreased LC3A/B-II expression and increased p62 expression. The apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells induced by AA was decreased. Therefore, our findings revealed that melatonin could prevent AA-induced AKI by attenuating mitochondrial damage, which may provide a potential therapeutic method for renal AA toxicity.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.392-399
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• 2002

The effects of vehicles and penetration enhancers on the in vitro permeation of melatonin through dorsal hairless mouse skin were investigated. Propylene glycol laurate (PGL), isopropyl myristate (IPM), propylene glycol monolaurate (PGML) and propylene glycol monocaprylate (PGMC) showed high permeation fluxes and PGL, PGML and PGMC decreased lag time significantly. In both of the binary co-solvents of diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (DGME)-PGL and DGME-IPM, the highest fluxes were achieved at 20% of DGME, which were $10.5{\pm}1.5$ and $9.1{\pm}2.4{\;}{\mu\textrm{g}}/cm^2/h$, respectively. Among fatty acids used as a permeation enhancer, capric acid and oleic acid in DGME-PGL (80:20 v/v) showed relatively high enhancing effects. Capric acid also shortened the lag time of melatonin from $2.4{\pm}0.7{\;}to{\;}1.3{\pm}0.2{\;}h$. Oleic acid, however, failed to shorten the lag time. Therefore, for effective solution formulations in terms of permeation flux and lag time, capric acid-containing DGME-PGL (80 : 20 v/v) could be used to enhance the skin permeation of melatonin.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.277-285
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• 2013

This study examines the wearing comfort of elderly women through a physiological analysis based on rectal temperature and biochemical analysis with salivary melatonin and cortisol. This study was conducted on 7 elderly women aged 65 or over. Two kinds of clothing ensemble (control and prototype) were used as experimental clothing. The control clothing was a general clothing ensemble and the prototype clothing lowered clothing pressure by adding an extra gap. The experimental schedule included daily living activities with randomly assigned experimental clothing. Rectal temperature was constantly measured every 5 minutes during the experiment and saliva samples for melatonin and cortisol were collected twice per day before and after sleep. The rectal temperature was lower for the prototype than the control throughout the experiment, and its circadian rhythm was prompt and clear in prototype. In addition, melatonin was secreted more but cortisol was secreted less when the subjects wore the prototype clothing. With these results, we assumed that regular circadian rhythm and low level of stress might be caused by wearing prototype clothing that lowered clothing pressure. The results demonstrate the necessity to develop clothing that considers body changes in elderly women.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.135-142
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• 2017

In the present study, we investigated the physiological effects of smartphone use at night when the display luminance and white balance were differently manipulated. Two levels of luminance and two types of white balance were combined to form four types of displays. Subjects were instructed to use smartphones between 23:00 to 01:00 twice a week for two weeks, and for each trial, subjects were given one of the four display types. Melatonin concentration in the saliva, body temperature and heart rate were measured before and after each experiment. The experimental result showed that the low luminance display supported melatonin secretion and thermoregulation compared to the high luminance display. With regard to the white balance, higher melatonin level was observed when using the display that filtered blue light. The low luminance display together with yellowish tint best supported restful sleep at night in terms of every physiological response. This study collectively demonstrates that bright and blue light emitted from smartphone displays adversely affect melatonin secretion, body temperature, and heart rate, and therefore, suggests the use of a display with low luminance or a display that filters blue light for a restful sleep at night.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.415-427
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• 2021

A plethora of compounds stimulate protective mechanisms in plants against microbial pathogens and abiotic stresses. Some defense activators are synthetic compounds and trigger responses only in certain protective pathways, such as activation of defenses under regulation by the plant regulator, salicylic acid (SA). This review discusses the potential of naturally occurring plant metabolites as primers for defense responses in the plant. The production of the metabolites, hexanoic acid and melatonin, in plants means they are consumed when plants are eaten as foods. Both metabolites prime stronger and more rapid activation of plant defense upon subsequent stress. Because these metabolites trigger protective measures in the plant they can be considered as "vaccines" to promote plant vigor. Hexanoic acid and melatonin instigate systemic changes in plant metabolism associated with both of the major defense pathways, those regulated by SA- and jasmonic acid (JA). These two pathways are well studied because of their induction by different microbial triggers: necrosis-causing microbial pathogens induce the SA pathway whereas colonization by beneficial microbes stimulates the JA pathway. The plant's responses to the two metabolites, however, are not identical with a major difference being a characterized growth response with melatonin but not hexanoic acid. As primers for plant defense, hexanoic acid and melatonin have the potential to be successfully integrated into vaccination-like strategies to protect plants against diseases and abiotic stresses that do not involve man-made chemicals.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.58-58
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• 2003

포유동물 체외 수정란의 체외 발육율을 향상시키기 위해서는 배양액내에 생성되는 free radical을 제거하는 것이 한가지 요인으로 지적되고 있다. 체외 배양액내에 생성되는 free radical을 제거하기 위하여 여러 종류의 항산화제 첨가 배양이 많이 이용되어 체외발육성적을 향상시키고 있다. 포유동물의 번식에 있어서 Melatonin은 광주기 조절 작용에 기여하는 호르몬으로서 혈중 Melatonin의 농도는 번식 작용에 중요한 역할을 하며, 또한 수정란의 세포분열과 세포주기에 영향을 미치며 배양액내의 free radical을 제거하여 수정과 초기 수정란 발달에 영향을 미쳐 항산화 기능이 있는 것으로 보고되고 있다.

• Proceedings of the KSCN Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.439.2-439
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• 2004

Melatonin in mammals, produced by the pineal gland and elsewhere, has shown antioxidant and neuroprotective properties in neuronal cells. We investigated whether melatonin would increase newly-born cells (cell proliferation) in the dentate gyrus of maternally-separated rats. To examine the effect of melatonin on cell proliferation of the dentate gyrus in maternally-separated rats, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry was performed.(omitted)

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4101-4105
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• 2012

Purpose: The degree of radiation injury to kidneys which are located within the limits of radiotherapy area is determined by the volume and the dose of radiation to which the organ is exposed. When the tolerance dose of the kidney is exceeded after a latent period of 6 months acute nephritis develops and after 18 months chronic nephritis ensues. Melatonin is known to prevent the oxidative injury of toxins and radiotherapy with its free radical scavenging capacity. Methods and Materials: In this study 8 weeks old 24 Sprague -Dawley rats were allocated into 4 groups: Control group; Radiotherapy group (20 Gy bilaterally in 5 fractions); Melatonin group (10 mg/kg intraperitoneally), and Melatonin+radiotherapy group (20 Gy Radiotherapy in 5 fractions+ melatonin 10 mg/kg intraperitoneally). After a follow-up period of 6 months BUN was determined in all groups. After rats were euthanized the kidneys were removed for histopathological examination under both light and electron microscopes. Results: After 6 months follow-up, both at light and electron microscopy levels, the rats in radiotherapy+melatonin group were significantly protected against the radiation injury comparing to radiotherapy group (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was shown in this experimental model that melatonin has protective effects against radiation injury to kidneys.