Daily melatonin supplementation in mice increases atherosclerosis in proximal aorta.

Considerable evidence supports the hypothesis that LDL oxidation plays an important role in atherosclerosis. Even though high melatonin doses inhibit LDL oxidation in vitro, the effect of melatonin on atherosclerosis has never been studied. We have demonstrated that the feeding of hypercholesterolemic mice with an atherogenic diet supplemented with melatonin highly increases the surface of atherosclerotic lesions in the proximal aorta.