Background: Uric acid may act as an antioxidant; high serum uric acid levels are often associated with cardiovascular disease, such as coronary artery disease. Melatonin plays a role as a direct free radical scavenger and indirect antioxidant. No study has examined the relationships between endogenous melatonin and uric acid in order to predict the risk of future cardiovascular disease in males so far. To better characterize a possible relationship, we studied the association of endogenous melatonin with uric acid and traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as plasma lipids, and glucose in healthy young males.
Material and methods: Twenty-one male participants [mean age: 22.6 2.5 (18-26) year], non-smoking; their medication or alcohol consumption history were studied. Blood samples for measuring melatonin concentrations were collected in the supine position between 13:30-14:30 hours. After centrifugation, plasma samples were immediately frozen at -20°C until analysis.
Results: Although we found a significant negative correlation between the levels of endogeneous melatonin and uric acid (p=0.01, r=-0.51), we did not find any correlation among the melatonin and other antropometric, hemodynamic and biochemical parameters in male subjects (p>0.41).
Conclusions: The present study demonstrated a significant negative correlation between the levels of endogeneous melatonin and uric acid in healthy young males.