Benefits and Risks of Melatonin in Hepatic and Pancreatic Disorders; A Review of Clinical Evidences

Melatonin is the "clock factor" produced from the pineal gland dominating regular circadian rhythm in mammalians. It is an indoleamine with potent multifunctional pharmacological effects, both receptor dependent and non-receptor dependent effects, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this review is to summarize clinical evidence related to melatonin's effectiveness in the treatment of liver and pancreas diseases. Databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Cochran Library were searched up to November 2020.Finally, this review has summarized up-to-date clinical evidence to investigate the efficacy and safety of melatonin for the management of liver and pancreas diseases. Melatonin has been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on the management of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), sleep disturbance of cirrhotic patients, prevention of drug/poison induced liver toxicity,and prevention of post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP);more data is needed to recommend melatonin administration in the treatment of mentioned disorders.