SUMMARY
Our research group has previously studied the role of melatonin in the immune system of birds and
mice, finding that incubation with both pharmacological and physiological doses of melatonin
augmented the activity of phagocytes from these animals, and that this activity was lowered in
pinealectomized animals. Since melatonin is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan, the aim of
the present work was to determine whether the administration of tryptophan might affect the plasma
levels of melatonin and the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages over the course of a
circadian cycle. The study animals were 14-week-old male Wistar rats. They were administered
tryptophan orally in a daily single dose of 125 mg/kg at 19:00 h for 21 days. Prior to beginning this
treatment, the circadian rhythms of plasma melatonin and phagocytic activity were evaluated under
basal conditions over a 24-h period, taking blood and cell suspension samples each 2 hours during
the light period (08:00–20:00) and each hour during the dark period (20:00–08:00), since it is
during this latter period that the secretion of melatonin is maximum. The results showed that, under
basal conditions, the rats’ plasma melatonin levels and phagocytic activity peaked at 02:00. After the
tryptophan administration, there were increases in plasma melatonin levels with respect to basal and
control-group values, with a peak at 21:00, and in the phagocytic activity of the peritoneal
macrophages, which peaked at 02:00. This suggests that the tryptophan administration stimulated
melatonin synthesis, leading to increased and earlier peaking plasma levels of this hormone, and
augmented the innate immune response carried out by the peritoneal macrophages as a result of the
immunoregulatory action of melatonin.
KEY WORDS
tryptophan; melatonin; immune system; circadian rhythms; rats
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CITED
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