Basic and clinical aspects of melatonin in the gastrointestinal tract. New advancements and future perspectives

摘要

This special issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design is intended to provide an update on the role of melatonin, originally discovered as the major secretory product of the pineal gland, in the treatment of upper and lower of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders. It has become evident that melatonin is a widely-produced and ubiquitously-distributed molecule with multiple critical functions in all organs and in all organisms but its involvement in the function and integrity of GI-tract has only recently been reviewed [1]. With this volume we decided to provide an overview of the recent advances in experimental research and clinical studies on the efficacy of endogenously secreted melatonin and exogenously applied melatonin to prevent GI injury and the contribution of this hormone to the protection of major Gl-tract organs including the esophagus, stomach, intestine, pancreas and liver.