Melatonin and quercetin supplementation reduces depression risk in diabetics

Researchers from Algeria found that melatonin and quercetin are beneficial supplements for diabetics. In their study, which was published in The Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences, it was revealed that melatonin and quercetin can improve depression and lipid levels in animal models with diabetes.

• Diabetes mellitus can cause several complications that affect the heart, kidneys, eyes, blood vessels, and the central nervous system. It is also associated with depressive-like behavior and mood disorders, which occur due to changes in serotonin transmission.
• Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland from tryptophan. This hormone has been shown to neutralize free radicals, improve lipid levels, and ameliorate depressive-like behavior.
• Quercetin is a flavonoid found in a lot of fruits and vegetables. It has beneficial effects against depression, lipid metabolism disorders, and diabetes.
• In this study, researchers evaluated the effects of melatonin and quercetin on the anxiety- and depressive-like behavior of male Wistar rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.
• They used different behavioral experiments, including the open field test and forced swimming test. From these tests, they observed that treated rats exhibited improvements in depressive-like behavior
• The team also determined the effects of melatonin and quercetin on lipid levels by evaluating the insulin, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels of diabetic rats after four weeks of treatment. Results showed that melatonin and quercetin significantly reduced triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels while high-density lipoprotein increased.
• The different experiments also showed that melatonin was more effective than quercetin in improving both depressive-like behavior and lipid levels.

Overall, the results of this study suggest that melatonin and quercetin can be used to treat and prevent complications caused by diabetes, particularly depression and high lipid levels.

The full text of the study is available at this link.

If you’d like to read more news articles on how to improve diabetes and its complications, visit DiabetesScienceNews.com.

Journal Reference:

Rebai R, Boudah A, Derri N. MELATONIN AND QUERCETIN IMPROVE DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIOR AND DYSLIPIDEMIA IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETES IN RATS. The Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences. 2017;27(6).