{"claimId":"clm_ec_b12-mel-inflammation","version":1,"status":"current","verdict":"Melatonin for inflammation: Grade B at moderate certainty. Meta-analysis of 31 clinical trials (1517 participants): melatonin significantly reduced inflammatory markers IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF versus placebo, but had no significant effect on C-reactive protein (CRP). After correcting for publication bias, effects on IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8 remained significant — a real anti-inflammatory signal on cytokines specifically, not on CRP.","direction":"benefit","magnitude":{"metric":"other","value":null,"unit":"","ci95":null,"humanReadable":"Meta-analysis of 31 clinical trials (1517 participants): melatonin significantly reduced inflammatory markers IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF versus placebo, but had no significant effect on C-reactive protein (CRP). After correcting for publication bias, effects on IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8 remained significant — a real anti-inflammatory signal on cytokines specifically, not on CRP.","baselineAbsoluteRisk":null},"certainty":"moderate","clinicalMeaning":"small_but_potentially_useful","applicability":{"appliesTo":["adults"],"doesNotApply":["children"],"unknown":["pregnancy"]},"safetyQualifiers":["uncertain_with_ssri"],"evidenceBundleId":"eb_ec_b12-mel-inflammation","citations":[{"pmid":"33581247","design":"peer-reviewed"}],"reviewedBy":{"name":"Substrate editorial","credential":"Independent research collective"},"reviewedAt":"2026-07-16T16:41:02.092Z","dateModified":"2026-07-16T16:41:02.092Z","methodologyVersion":"v1","methodologyDoi":"https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21364236","canonicalUrl":"https://evidencebased.info/interventions/melatonin/inflammation","attribution":"Substrate (evidencebased.info), claim clm_ec_b12-mel-inflammation v1, reviewed 2026-07-16","license":"CC-BY-4.0 — attribution with link required"}