Origins
When was melatonin discovered?
Melatonin is not a peptide. It was isolated from bovine pineal glands in 1958, by a dermatologist looking for something that lightens skin.
The short answer
| Date | 1958 |
| Who | Aaron Lerner and colleagues |
| Where | Yale University, New Haven |
| Origin | Found, not designed — it occurs naturally and was isolated from tissue. |
Where it came from
Lerner was a dermatologist, and the question he started from was about pigmentation. A pineal extract had been reported to lighten frog skin, and he set out to find the substance responsible — which took a great deal of pineal tissue, since the gland is small and the compound present in tiny amounts.
What came out was an indoleamine derived from tryptophan, which he named melatonin. Its connection to the day-night cycle, which is the only thing most people associate it with now, came later and from other groups.
It is included here because it is sold alongside peptides and is routinely described as one. It is not: it has no amino acid residues and no peptide bonds, and concepts such as net peptide content and peptide purity do not apply to it.
Why it is called that
From melanophore, the pigment cell it was found by its action on, and tonin from serotonin, the molecule it is made from.
Where it stands now
Melatonin is a prescription medicine in New Zealand. Material supplied for laboratory work is not that product.
What this page does not say
Nothing above is a statement about what Melatonin does in a body, and none of it is guidance on use. A compound’s history is a record of laboratories and dates; it is not evidence for anything, and the fact that a programme was looking for something is not a finding that it was found.
More on Melatonin
What is Melatonin? · The full timeline · Melatonin — sizes and prices
