Table 1 Particularly high melatonin levels reported for several edible and medicinal plants (selected examples).
Species | Tissue | Melatonin [ng/g] | References |
|---|---|---|---|
(A) Edible plants | Â | Â | Â |
Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato) | fruit | 0.5 | [18] |
Raphanus sativus (red radish) | root tuber | 0.6 | [19] |
Brassica campestris (Japanese radish) | stem, leaves | 0.6 | [19] |
Brassica nigra (black mustard) | seed | 129 | [24,28] |
Brassica hirta (white mustard) | seed | 189 | [24,28] |
Prunus cerasus (tart cherry, Montmorency) | fruit | 15–18 | [23,24] |
Prunus amygdalus (almond) | seed | 39 | [28] |
Pimpinella anisum (anise) | seed | 7 | [24,28] |
Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) | seed | 28 | [24,28] |
Helianthus annuus (sunflower) | seed | 29 | [24,28] |
Oryza sativa (rice) | seed | 1 | [19] |
Zea mays (Indian corn) | seed | 1.3 | [19] |
Avena sativa (oat) | seed | 1.8 | [19] |
Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue) | seed | 5 | [19] |
Elettaria cardamomum (green cardamom) | seed | 15 | [24,28] |
Zingiber officinale (ginger) | tuber | 0.5 | [19] |
Musa paradisiaca (banana) | fruit | 0.5 | [18] |
(B) Officinal plants | Â | Â | Â |
Melissa officinalis (balm mint) | young plant | 16 | [25] |
Scutellaria baicalensis (huang-qin) | plant | > 2,000 – > 7,000 | [24,25,27] |
Pimpinella peregrina (-) | dried root | 38 | [25] |
Hypericum perforatum (St. Johns wort) | leaf | 1,750 | [27] |
Hypericum perforatum (St. Johns wort) | flower | > 2,400 – > 4,000 | [25,27] |
Lippia citriodora (lemon verbena) | young plant | 22 | [25] |
Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) | leaf (fresh/dried) | > 1,300/> 7,000 | [24,25,27] |