Is melatonin found in food?

    Last Updated: October 13, 2024

    Melatonin is also found in a variety of foods, although typically in small amounts.[1] Sources of melatonin that are commonly consumed include:[2][3]

    • Tomatoes:3–114 nanograms per gram (ng/g)[4][5]
    • Walnuts: 3–4 ng/g[6]
    • Cereal (barley, rye): 300–1,000 picograms per gram (pg/g)[1]
    • Strawberries: 1–11 ng/g[4]
    • Night-time milk (functional food product): 10–40 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml)[7]
    • Wine (from grapes): 50–230 picograms per milliliter (pg/ml)[4][8]
    • Beer (from hops): 52–170 pg/ml[9]
    • Cherries: 2.06–13.46 ng/g[10]

    References

    1. ^Hattori A, Migitaka H, Iigo M, Itoh M, Yamamoto K, Ohtani-Kaneko R, Hara M, Suzuki T, Reiter RJIdentification of melatonin in plants and its effects on plasma melatonin levels and binding to melatonin receptors in vertebrates.Biochem Mol Biol Int.(1995-Mar)
    2. ^Tan DX, Hardeland R, Manchester LC, Korkmaz A, Ma S, Rosales-Corral S, Reiter RJFunctional roles of melatonin in plants, and perspectives in nutritional and agricultural science.J Exp Bot.(2012-Jan)
    3. ^Peuhkuri K, Sihvola N, Korpela RDietary factors and fluctuating levels of melatonin.Food Nutr Res.(2012)
    4. ^Iriti M, Varoni EM, Vitalini SMelatonin in traditional Mediterranean diets.J Pineal Res.(2010-Sep)
    5. ^Stürtz M, Cerezo AB, Cantos-Villar E, Garcia-Parrilla MCDetermination of the melatonin content of different varieties of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) and strawberries (Fragariaananassa).Food Chem.(2011-Aug-01)
    6. ^Reiter RJ, Manchester LC, Tan DXMelatonin in walnuts: influence on levels of melatonin and total antioxidant capacity of blood.Nutrition.(2005-Sep)
    7. ^Valtonen M, Niskanen L, Kangas AP, Koskinen TEffect of melatonin-rich night-time milk on sleep and activity in elderly institutionalized subjects.Nord J Psychiatry.(2005)
    8. ^M. Isabel Rodriguez-NaranjoMelatonin: A new bioactive compound in wineJournal of Food Composition and Analysis.(2011)
    9. ^Maldonado MD, Moreno H, Calvo JRMelatonin present in beer contributes to increase the levels of melatonin and antioxidant capacity of the human serum.Clin Nutr.(2009-Apr)
    10. ^Burkhardt S, Tan DX, Manchester LC, Hardeland R, Reiter RJDetection and quantification of the antioxidant melatonin in Montmorency and Balaton tart cherries (Prunus cerasus).J Agric Food Chem.(2001-Oct)