Pistacia atlantica as an inexpensive source of melatonin

Background: Melatonin is involved in regulation of circadian rhythm and alleviation of sleep disorders, such as insomnia due to jet lag and shift work, as it plays a major role in synchronization of the sleep/wake cycle Materials and methods: This study is devoted to extraction and determination of melatonin in Pistacia atlantica using an ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction (SLE) combined with UV-Vis Spectroscopy. The volume and type of extraction solvent, sonication time, and extraction temperature on the extraction efficiency were optimized. Results: Under optimum conditions, use of 30 mL of ethanol and 30 min sonication time caused to achieve the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.047 ppm. The method accuracy was confirmed according to the calculation of recovery using standard addition method that, exhibited the successful applicability of the present method for real sample analysis. In addition, the obtained results were compared to those using gas chromatography/Mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). Combination of SLE and UV-Vis leads to greater sensitivity and lower cost for accurate and repeatable extraction of melatonin from Pistacia atlantica with acceptable recovery and RSD% (1.04%). Conclusion: Therefore, we efficiently extracted and purified of melatonin from an inexpensive source (Pistacia atlantica fruit). The extracted melatonin can be replaced synthetic drugs.