Cited by 156Effects of Radiation ExposureCircadian rhythm and melatoninAntioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress

Ionizing Radiation as a Source of Oxidative Stress—The Protective Role of Melatonin and Vitamin D

Open access
Nuszkiewicz, Jarosław, Woźniak, Alina, Szewczyk-Golec, Karolina·2020·International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Abstract

Ionizing radiation (IR) has found widespread application in modern medicine, including medical imaging and radiotherapy. As a result, both patients and healthcare professionals are exposed to various IR doses. To minimize the negative side effects of radiation associated with oxidative imbalance, antioxidant therapy has been considered. In this review, studies on the effects of melatonin and vitamin D on radiation-induced oxidative stress are discussed. According to the research data, both substances meet the conditions for use as agents that protect humans against IR-induced tissue damage. Numerous studies have confirmed that melatonin, a hydro- and lipophilic hormone with strong antioxidant properties, can potentially be used as a radioprotectant in humans. Less is known about the radioprotective effects of vitamin D, but the results to date have been promising. Deficiencies in melatonin and vitamin D are common in modern societies and may contribute to the severity of adverse side effects of medical IR exposure. Hence, supporting supplementation with both substances seems to be of first importance. Interestingly, both melatonin and vitamin D have been found to selectively radiosensitise cancer cells, which makes them promising adjuvants in radiotherapy. More research is needed in this area, especially in humans.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/ijms21165804

Cites

198 of 198 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

1 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 200 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Nuszkiewicz, J., Woźniak, A., & Szewczyk-Golec, K.
Affiliations
  • Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL)
  • Department of Medical Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, 24 Karłowicza St, 85-092 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Corresponding author
Nuszkiewicz, Jarosław
Venue
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2020-08-13
Volume
21
Issue
16
Pages
5804
ISSN
1422-0067 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3048655647
Cited by
156
References
200
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 3
FWCI
2.16
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • International Journal of Molecular Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Effects of Radiation Exposure
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
Keywords
ionizing radiation, oxidative stress, melatonin, vitamin D, radiation protection, antioxidant therapy, radiation-induced tissue damage, melatonin deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, adjuvant radiotherapy, radiation exposure
MeSH terms
Animals, Circadian Rhythm, Humans, Melatonin, Radiation, Ionizing, Vitamin D, Reactive Oxygen Species, Oxidative Stress

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review