Detection and Quantification of the Antioxidant Melatonin in Montmorency and Balaton Tart Cherries (Prunus cerasus)

Susanne Burkhardt,†‡ Dun Xian Tan,† Lucien C. Manchester,† Rüdiger Hardeland,‡ and Russel J. Reiter*†
Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center, Mail Code 7762, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900, and Institut fr Zoologie und Anthropologie, Universitt Gttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, D-37073 Gttingen, Germany
J. Agric. Food Chem., 2001, 49 (10), pp 4898–4902
DOI: 10.1021/jf010321+
Publication Date (Web): September 28, 2001
Copyright © 2001 American Chemical Society
†

 University of Texas Health Science Center.

,
‡

 Universität Göttingen.

,
*

 Corresponding author [telephone (210) 567-3859; fax (210) 567-6948; e-mail reiter@uthscsa.edu].

Abstract

The antioxidant melatonin was recently identified in a variety of edible plants and seeds in high concentrations. In plants, as in animals, melatonin is believed to function as a free radical scavenger and possibly in photoperiodism. In this study, melatonin was detected and quantified in fresh-frozen Balaton and Montmorency tart cherries (Prunus cerasus) using high-performance liquid chromatography. Both cherry species contain high levels of melatonin compared to the melatonin concentrations in the blood of mammals. Montmorency cherries (13.46 ± 1.10 ng/g) contain 6 times more melatonin than do Balaton cherries (2.06 ± 0.17 ng/g). Neither the orchard of origin nor the time of harvest influenced the amount of melatonin in fresh cherries. The implication of the current findings is that consuming cherries could be an important source of dietary melatonin inasmuch as melatonin is readily absorbed when taken orally. Also, previously published data and the results presented here show that melatonin is not only endogenously produced but also present in the diet.

Keywords: Melatonin; fruit; Prunus cerasus; Balaton cherry; Montmorency cherry; antioxidant

View: Full Text HTML | Hi-Res PDF

Tools

History

  • Published In Issue October 15, 2001
  • Received for review March 8, 2001. Revised manuscript received August 12, 2001. Accepted August 14, 2001. This research was supported by the Cherry Marketing Institute (East Lansing, MI). S.B. was supported by a fellowship of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Recommend & Share

Related Content

Other ACS content by these authors: