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Dietary Caloric Restriction Prevents the Age-Related Decline in Plasma Melatonin Levels of Rhesus Monkeys

Gerontology Research Center (G.S.R., D.K.I., M.A.L.), National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 21224; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (V.L., M.L.), Seattle, Washington 98109; and Jean Choay Institute for Biomedical Research (M.L.), CH-6826 Riva San Vitale, Switzerland

Address correspondence and requests for reprints to: George S. Roth, Ph.D., Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224.

Abstract

Rhesus monkeys exhibit an age-associated decrease in peak plasma melatonin levels analogous to that reported for humans. This decrease is essentially abolished in monkeys subjected to a 30% reduction in caloric intake over a 12-yr period. The caloric restriction (CR) effect does not seem to be a reversal, but rather a long-term prevention, of the age-related decline in hormone concentrations. The age effect does not seem to be due to a phase shift in the peak of melatonin secretions, as has been observed in some populations of aged humans. It is also extremely unlikely that the CR effect simply reflects a phase shift, since old monkeys on the diet have nocturnal melatonin levels equal to or greater than adult fully fed controls. Thus, if peak times (approximately 0200 h) were actually shifted, maximal levels in old CR monkeys would be even higher. These findings, coupled with previous observations in humans, suggest that peak plasma melatonin levels may represent a possible candidate "biomarker of aging" in primates. Moreover, this index of age-associated physiological decrement seems to be inhibited by dietary CR.

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