MELATONIN supplementation may help offset the DNA damage associated with night shift work by boosting the body's ability to repair it, suggest the findings of a small clinical trial from Canada.
Normal night-time production of melatonin is suppressed in night shift workers, which compromises the body's ability to repair oxidative DNA damage, the by-product of normal cellular processes, heightening the risk of certain cancer in these workers, explained the researchers.
The researchers' aimed to find out if melatonin supplementation might help offset this damage by enhancing DNA repair in 40 night healthcare shift workers.
Half the participants were randomly assigned to a daily 3mg melatonin pill taken with food and an hour before going to sleep during the day for four consecutive weeks, while the other half received a placebo.
The team measured levels of 8-OHdG - an indicator of DNA damage repair capacity - in urine specimens collected before starting the trial and near the end.
Among those taking the melatonin, urinary levels of 8-OH-dG were 80% higher during daytime sleep - indicating better repair - than those taking the placebo, but there was no significant difference in levels during the subsequent night shift.
"Increased oxidative DNA damage due to diminished DNA repair capacity is a compelling mechanism that may contribute to the carcinogenicity of night shift work," wrote the authors.
"Our randomised placebo-controlled trial suggested melatonin supplementation may improve oxidative DNA damage repair capacity among night shift workers," they concluded, adding that a larger trial is warranted.
The full paper is HERE. KB
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