Melatonin could effectively contribute to the management and control of neuropathic pain, a major global public health issue arising from damage to the somatosensory nervous system, according to a recent review published in Nutrients. Neuropathic pain is also associated with a significant impact on daily activities, sleep, and interpersonal relationships, especially in progressive forms.
The therapeutic challenges
Despite the efforts undertaken and the proposals from research, the effectiveness of treatments in improving pain outcomes remains limited, posing a major clinical challenge and not only a research one. The global effort is currently aimed at developing personalized care and management plans that help patients carry out their activities, by alleviating pain, reducing its severity and intensity. One of the most widely supported hypotheses is that neuropathic pain may arise from the synergy of inflammation and oxidative stress, in which diet seems to play a significant role, although the involved mechanisms are still to be clarified.
Of particular interest is the potential role of supplementation with dietary antioxidants, such as melatonin, as an addition to traditional approaches, with the aim of a possible modulatory action on neuropathic pain. Melatonin, primarily secreted by the pineal gland but also produced by other organs such as the gastrointestinal tract, is known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-aging properties.
The benefits of Melatonin
The substance is present in several foods, mainly fruits and vegetables such as grapes, cherries, strawberries, nuts but also rice, and in synergy with other polyphenols, it seems to promote pain control and reduction. Several studies suggest that antioxidant-rich foods, such as vegetables, are capable of improving immune system function and counteracting inflammation and oxidative stress, mechanisms that can trigger neuropathic pain.
Among the various substances of interest is melatonin: early evidence seems to show that increasing melatonin intake through supplementation yields health benefits. Data emerge from several clinical trials in which patients with fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and migraine, conditions associated with neuropathic pain, treated with melatonin have derived meaningful pain relief without adverse effects.
Thus, melatonin within a dietary context could represent an interesting approach in addition to standard pharmacological treatments, in a quasi-therapeutic intervention. These findings invite deeper human studies, on a large scale and over the long term, to better understand and clarify the mechanisms of action on neuropathic pain and therefore develop, if efficacy is demonstrated, standardized treatment protocols that place melatonin at the center, adequately evaluated. It is true that the type of administration and the dosing can significantly influence treatment effectiveness, keeping in mind that the levels of melatonin naturally present in foods can also vary depending on the food source, environmental influence, and harvesting conditions.
An integrated approach
It remains understood that melatonin support should be studied in a personalized way, tailored to the patient’s needs within an integrated context that combines nutrition, diet, and other antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances, with physical exercise alongside pharmacological therapies to modulate and reduce neuropathic pain.
Nevertheless, new neuronutrition studies will need to be launched to understand the role, specifically of melatonin, and thus proceed to the design of targeted and increasingly effective therapies.
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
