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The do it all drug

The do it all drug MELATONIN gets secreted by the pineal gland, a pea-size structure at the centre of the brain. A potent hormone, melatonin is the natural nightcap. It sets the body's clock and helps it sleep. Most animals, including humans, produce a lot of melatonin early on in life but its level in the blood stream drops sharply around puberty and declines steadily as one grows older (Newsweek, November 6,1995).

The craze for melatonin began when studies suggested that low-dose supplements of the hormone can hasten sleep and ease jet-lag without the side-effects that the intake of sleeping pills involves. Further, some researchers hold that melatonin can slow the process of aging. Certain other experiments conducted on animals have led to the belief that melatonin protects cells, strengthens the immune system and slows down the growth of some tumours.

The main evidence supporting the theory on aging was provided by two American scientists, Walter Pierpaoli and William Regelson. They exchanged surgically the pineal glands in pairs of 10 young and 10 old mice. While young mice died in their middle-ages, the older ones surpassed their life expectancies by an average of 30 per cent. This dramatic response of the elder mice to youthful levels of melatonin raised hopes that it could work in humans too. But what holds good for mice may not hold for humans. Decades of research might be needed to establish , that humans respond as dramatically to melatonin as mice.

Whatever its impact on the process of aging may be, melatonin is certainly sleep inducing. Clinical studies have shown that a dose as miniscule as a tenth of a milligram eases down one to sleep, whatever the time of the day. Moreover, experts agree that it can ward off jet lag, because when a person travels across time-zones, the body takes time adjusting to the shift. A dose of Melatonin accomplishes this task splendidly. It resets the body's clock by working as a soporific as well as a timekeeper.

While the drug has its takers, it has its share of sceptics too. Some experts are appalled by the way such a strong hormone is receiving a massive publicity. "Does the body need so much melatonin? It is possible that adults produce less for some reason, but even one mg, the smallest commercially available dose, is at least three times higher than the normal amount in the body," argues Margarita Dubocovich, a neuropharmacologist at North-Western University in the US.

The long-term effects are yet unknown, even though it has been established beyond doubt that melatonin is safer than a sleeping pill. However, some categories of people, like pregnant women, are advised to avoid the drug since the effect of the drug on the foetus is not known. People with severe allergies, autoimmune diseases or immune-system cancers, such as lymphoma or leukemia, should not use the drug too. Melatonin could deteriorate such conditions by stimulating the immune system. Healthy children already produce it in abundance, so parents should think twice before administering it to them.

Regular exercises, the right diet and giving up cigarettes are established routes to good health, but for Americans the lure of the sale, cheap, natural panacea is proving irresistible. "It is like a revolution. People are going crazy about the stuff," remarks Dubocovich.

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