Melatonin ( n - acetyl - 5 - methoxytryptamine ) was discovered by a lerner and his colleagues [ l ] as the principal hormone of vertebrate pineal gland , an unpaired appendage of the brain in most vertebrates and named by him after its effects on amphibian melanophore . however , it is now known that many cells and tissues synthesis and the nature of organisms , melatonin is secreted in the night , thus , melatonin is identified as an endocreine index of the darkness and referred to as darkness hormone [ 3 ] . melatonin has aslo been called by other names , such as nature ' s sleeping pill for it role in sleep - wake cycles , and circadian glue for its increasing importance in the regulation of circadian and circannual physiological and behavioural functions , moreover it is also involved in the regulation of the immune respone and various cns activies , in the last decade , considerable attention has been devoted to the pharmacology of melatonin in view of its potential applications in various therapeutic areas 褪黑素( n -乙酰- 5 -甲氧基色胺， melatonin ，简称mt ) ，由lerner和他的同事们发现[ 1 ] ，后来根据它对两栖动物黑色素细胞的影响而命名，是脊椎动物松果腺分泌的一种重要激素。松果体在大多数多脊椎动物中是一个孤立的附属器官。然而，现在众所周知很多细胞和组织合成mt ，若不考虑合成的位点和机体的属性， mt在晚上分泌，正因如此， mt被认为是一种黑暗的内源性指标，被称作黑色激素[ 3 ] 。
