Evaluating the Effects of High-Dose Melatonin on Mental and Somatic Status of Normal Subjects

摘要

Pulmonary and central nervous system oxygen toxicity are mission, limiting, health-endangering consequences of breathing high partial pressures of oxygen. Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland, is a powerful antioxidant that can be safely given at high dosages to human subjects. We tested in ten human subjects the mental and somatic effects of 300 mg of pharmaceutical-grade melatonin administered orally. The dosage was divided into two boluses given four hours apart. The subjects maintained a normal daytime working schedule after dosing. Each subject completed an ANAM 2000 neuropsychological performance battery administered one hour after each dose; some subjects repeated ANAM testing two hours after the first dose. The scores from the tests were compared to predosing baseline scores. This dosage of melatonin did not trigger any adverse reactions and caused no significant degradation of ANAM scores. Matching to Sample scores increased significantly. Both objective measures and subjective impressions varied widely, with no clear pattern overall. Only half the subjects reported an increase in drowsiness following the administration of melatonin.