Phytomelatonin: Discovery, Content, and Role in Plants

Table 1

Data on the presence and content of melatonin in some edible plant organs.

Family	Common name	Specie name	Melatonin content; (pg/g FW (DW) tissue)	Reference
Actinidiaceae	Kiwi fruit	Actinidia deliciosa Liang-Ferg.	24.4	[33]
Amaranthaceae	Beet root	Beta vulgaris L.	2	[32]
Araceae	Taro	Colocasia esculenta L.	54.6	[33]
Basellaceae	Indian spinach	Basella alba L.	38.7	[33]
Asparagaceae	Asparagus	Asparagus officinalis L.	9.5	[33]
Brassicaceae	Cabbage; white radish; “; Chinese cabbage; mustard seed: black; white	Brassica oleracea capitata L.; Raphanus sativus L.; “; Brassica rapa L.; Brassica nigra L.; Brassica hirta L.	107.4; 657.2; 485,000 DW; 112.5; 129,000 DW; 189,000 DW	[33]; [33]; [53]; [33]; [100]; [100]
Bromeliaceae	Pineapple; “	Ananas comosus L.; “	36.2; 302	[33]; [101]
Asteraceae	Shungiku; Butterbur (fuki); milk thistle seed	Chrysanthemum coronarium  L.; Petasites japonicus Maxim. Silybum marianum L.	416.8; 49.5; 2,000 DW	[33]; [33]; [100]
Cucurbitaceae	Cucumber fruit; “ seed	Cucumis sativus L.; “	24.6; 11,000	[33]; [89]
Fabaceae	Alfalfa seed; Fenugreek seed; Lupin seed	Medicago sativa L.  Trigonella foenum-graecum L.; Lupinus albus L.	16,000 DW; 43,000 DW; 3,830	[100]; [100]; [44]
Juglandaceae	Walnut	Juglans regia L.	3,500 DW	[40]
Poaceae	Rice seed; Barley seed; “; Sweet corn; Oat seed; Tall fescue	Oryza sativa L.; Hordeum vulgare L.; “; Zea mays L.; Avena sativa L.; Festuca arundinacea Schreb.	1,006; 378.1; 580; 1,366; 1,796; 5,288	[33]; [33]; [44]; [33]; [33]; [33]
Papaveraceae	Poppy seed	Papaver somniferum L.	6,000 DW	[100]
Liliaceae	Onion; Welsh onion	Allium cepa L.; Allium fistulosum L.	31.5; 85.7	[33]
Lythraceae	Pomegranate	Punica granatum L.	540–5,500	[102]
Musacea	Banana; “	Musa acuminata Colla; “	0.46; 8.9	[32]; [101]
Oleracea	Olive oil	Olea europaea L.	50–119 pg/mL	[103]
Rosaceae	Apple; Strawberry; “; Almond seed; Tart cherries; Sweet cherries; “	Malus domestica Borkh. Fragaria x ananassa Duch.; “; Prunus amygdalus Batsch; Prunus cerasus L.; Prunus avium L.; “	47.6; 12.4; 1,400–11,260; 39,000 DW; 1,000–19,500; 6–224; 8,000–120,000	[33]; [33]; [104]; [100]; [41]; [105]; [84]
Rubiaceae	Coffee beans: Robusta; arabica	Coffea canephora Pierr. Coffea arabica L.	5.8 µg/g DW; 6.8 µg/g DW	[106]; [106]
Rutaceae	Orange juice	Citrus x sinensis L.	150	[101]
Umbelliferae	Carrot; Anise seed; Coriander seed; Celery seed; Linseed (flax); Fennel seed; Sunflower seed	Daucus carota Hoffm. Pimpinella anisum L.; Coriandrum sativum L.; Apium graveolens L.; Linum usitatissimum L.; Foeniculum vulgare L.; Helianthus annuus L.	55.3; 7,000 DW; 7,000 DW; 7,000 DW; 12,000 DW; 28,000 DW; 29,000 DW	[33]; [100]; [100]; [100]; [100]; [100]; [100]
Solanaceae	Tomato fruit; “; “; “; “; “; Currant tomato; Bell pepper: green; orange; red; Wolf berry (goji); “	Solanum lycopersicum L.; “; “; “; “; “; Solanum pimpinellifolium L. Capsicum annuum L.; “; “; “; Lycium barbarum L.; “	32.2; 0.5; 2–16; 616–1,068; 4,100–114,500; 2,500; 0.1; 521.4 DW; 581.1 DW; 179.5 DW; 103,000 DW; 530,000 DW	[33]; [32]; [52]; [37]; [104]; [107]; [32]; [108]; [108]; [108]; [100]; [53]
Vitaceae	Grapevine; “; “; Redwine	Vitis vinifera L.; “; “; “	5–965; 600–1,200; 3,000–18,000; 140–277 pg/mL	[109]; [110]; [111]; [112]
Zingiberaceae	Cardamom seed; Curcuma; Ginger; “	Elettaria cardamomum L. Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb.; Zingiber officinale Rose; “	15,000 DW; 120,000 DW; 583.7; 3.2	[100]; [53]; [33]; [37]