how is melatonin made in pill form?
In: Biology
An amino acid (a molecule that can be combined to form proteins) called tryptophan is isolated from food products: meats, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes.
This is combined with enzymes—complete proteins, also isolated from other natural food sources, that induce chemical reactions in the body—to form serotonin, a hormone and neurotransmitter in the body that regulates sleep, appetite, and mood.
The serotonin is then again combined with other enzymes to proceed melatonin.
This is the same way the body creates melatonin: it gets the building blocks it needs from food, and then conducts its own small-scale chemical reactions within the body to create the amount of melatonin it thinks it needs.
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