ArticlePloS one2022
Melatonin supplementation alleviates cellular damage and physical performance decline induced by an intensive training period in professional soccer players.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Timing-dependent effects of melatonin supplementation on exercise performance and exercise-induced muscle damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of different dietary supplements on athletic performance in soccer players: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Effects of Melatonin Supplementation on Professional Football Player Performance: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Melatonin, Caffeine, or Their Combination: Effects on Sleep, Performance, Perceived Exertion in a Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study.Nutrients · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Mechanism-based nutritional strategies for performance and recovery in soccer players: a qualitative research synthesis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Review
- Perspective: Personalized Management of Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress in Post-Exercise Recovery with a Particular Emphasis on the Potential of Micro-Immunotherapy.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Melatonin Supplementation Enhances Next-Day High-Intensity Exercise Performance and Recovery in Trained Males: A Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Supplement Consumption by Elite Soccer Players: Differences by Competitive Level, Playing Position, and Sex.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Can melatonin reduce the severity of post-COVID-19 syndrome?EXCLI journal · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Melatonin has been proved to have positive effects on cellular damage and metabolic regulation. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of melatonin supplementation during an intensive training period on physical performance decline, oxidative stress and cellular damage state. The investigation was conducted on 20 soccer players who participated in an exhaustive six-day training schedule associated with daily 5 mg oral melatonin or placebo ingestion. Resting blood samples and physical performance were measured before and after the training period. The mixed 2-way ANOVA (group x training camp) showed that compared to placebo, melatonin intake prevented an increase in advanced oxidation protein products (p>0.05) and increased the antioxidant enzyme activity (i.e., superoxide dismutase; p<0.001). In addition, melatonin prevented an increase of biomarkers of renal function (e.g., creatinine; p>0.05) and biomarkers of muscle (e.g., creatine kinase; p>0.05) and liver (e.g., gamma-glutamyltransferase; p>0.05) damage. Furthermore, melatonin alleviated the deterioration in physical performance (countermovement jump, five-jump test and 20-m sprint; p>0.05). In conclusion, the obtained data showed increased oxidative stress and renal, muscle and liver damage in professional soccer players during an exhaustive training schedule. Melatonin intake during the training period exerts beneficial effects on physical performance and protects tissues against the deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species and cellular damage.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.