Melatonin could be employed in the management of neuropathic pain, a form of chronic pain caused by damage to the somatosensory nervous system that responds in an altered, abnormal way to a painful stimulus, even a banal one, with meaningful benefits on reducing symptoms and on quality of life, which is highly compromised. These are the findings of an Italian research study from the University of Brescia, published in Nutrients.
Neuropathic Pain
It is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as “pain resulting from a primary lesion or a disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system,” at both the central and peripheral levels. Neuropathic pain can be triggered by a range of factors: from diseases and injuries, including mechanical nerve injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, metabolic diseases such as herpes zoster, or immune deficiencies, as in AIDS.
Additional possible triggers include: chemotherapy-related neurotoxicity, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress in conditions such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and nerve ischemia. Each causal condition has distinct manifestations and symptoms, often linked to abnormal/altered signals along peripheral or central pathways.
Finally, neuropathic pain can be tied to neurotransmitter-related dysfunctions, such as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or to hyperactivity of central neurons related to either an excess of signals from the periphery or to a degenerative process affecting peripheral sensory neurons. Symptomatology and prevalence can be influenced by several factors, including genetic and/or hormonal components associated with psychosocial factors, thus a social, cultural, behavioral, and psycho-emotional component that influences the individual and their health.
Recent research, although this finding requires further investigation and targeted studies, seems to attribute a different perception of pain in men versus women, potentially due to the different distribution of telencephalic sensorimotor areas and a distinct process of pain inhibition. All these variables can also condition the response to treatment, i.e., pain.
The Role of Diet in Neuropathic Pain
It has been demonstrated by the literature that , such as fruits and vegetables, can help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, improve immune system function, and act on pathogenic processes that are prominent in neuropathic pain.
Diet, therefore, could be considered as an intervention with a quasi-therapeutic effect, to be explored through further clinical and preclinical studies that illuminate the effects of bioactive compounds commonly consumed in the diet on neuropathic pain, on the mechanisms of action of melatonin, long-term efficacy, mode of administration and the optimal dosages for pain control.
In the current state, in most preclinical studies, for example, the melatonin dose used is thousands of times higher than its physiological concentration, noting that this indolamine can exert its effect through several pathways, depending on the dose. With regard to diet, for example, the melatonin concentration in food sources can vary depending on the different measurement methods, the food source, the environmental influence, and the harvest conditions of the food itself.
In this context melatonin also fits in: some experimental studies, in fact, but not yet conclusively proven in humans, seem to have detected an analgesic action. In some clinical trials, melatonin has shown efficacy in managing pain related to fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and migraine, in the absence of side effects. These results could lead to integrating this substance, taken with the diet, specifically from fruits and vegetables (grapes, cherries, strawberries, walnuts, and rice), into the gold-standard approaches for neuropathic pain, if future research confirms its efficacy.
Supplementation
The majority of foods and beverages consumed by people contain melatonin, the intake of which raises circulating melatonin levels and total serum antioxidant status, thereby maximizing the health benefits of medicinal plants and a healthy diet. It should be noted that melatonin should be integrated into a broader context of a healthy lifestyle that includes diet, physical activity, and pharmacological therapy, where neuro-nutrition could play an important role in the design of targeted and increasingly effective therapies. This aspect will need to be explored by research and, in particular, by nutritional neuroscience.
Source
Cominelli G, Sulas F, Pinto D et al. Neuro-nutritional approach to neuropathic pain management: a critical review. Nutrients, 2025, 17(9), 1502. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17091502
Abbonati a Karla Miller
