Melatonin in traditional Mediterranean diets |
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Authors: | Marcello Iriti Elena M. Varoni Sara Vitalini |
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Affiliation: | 1. Dipartimento di Produzione Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy;2. Unità di Medicina e Patologia Orale e Odontoiatria Geriatrica, Dipartimento di Medicina, Chirurgia e Odontoiatria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy;3. Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale ‘Amedeo Avogadro’, Novara, Italy;4. Orto Botanico ‘GE Ghirardi’, Università degli Studi di Milano, Toscolano Maderno, Brescia, Italy |
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Abstract: | Abstract: Compared with other industrialized countries, the lower incidence of chronic‐degenerative disorders in Mediterranean populations has been emphasized in recent decades. The health‐promoting effects arising from Mediterranean dietary habits have been attributed to the large intake of plant foodstuffs rich in bioactive phytochemicals, such as melatonin. Recently, it has been suggested that melatonin present in edible plants may improve human health, by virtue of its biological activities and its good bioavailability. Plant melatonin, besides contributing to optimize the physiological functions regulated, in humans, by endogenous melatonin, may be involved in nutritional therapy to reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases in western populations. In this view, the presence of melatonin in some Mediterranean foods and beverages adds a new element to the hypothesis of health benefits associated to Mediterranean dietary patterns, although the available data are still preliminary and incomplete. |
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Keywords: | beer grape Mediterranean diet melatonin olive oil tomato wine |
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