Is it Safe to Take Melatonin With Seroquel?

Melatonin is a hormone -- a naturally occurring substance that helps regulate the normal functioning of the body. Most of the body's supply of melatonin is produced and released by the brain's pineal gland. Melatonin helps you maintain normal wake and sleep cycles and taking it in supplement form can help you fall asleep faster. The body makes its melatonin using the amino acid tryptophan as an ingredient. Melatonin helps promote sleep by triggering receptors in the brain designed especially for it.

Seroquel is the brand name for the prescription anti-psychotic drug quetiapine. It is prescribed for the treatment of schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder that makes it hard to tell if what you are experiencing is real or not. While the exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown, drugs like Seroquel work by blocking the effect of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin in the brain. Seroquel also is used to balance moods in patients with bipolar depression and mania.

The list of drugs that Seroquel interacts with is long and broad. Serorquel's list of negative side effects is even longer. The prescribing information for Seroquel lists drug interactions with phenytoin, carbamazepine, barbiturates, rifampin, glucocorticoids, divalproex, thioridazine, cimetidine, ketoconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole, erythromycin, protease inhibitors, lorazepam and lithium. The majority of these interactions involve the way the body gets rid of Seroquel and other drugs. The enzyme cytochrome P450 3A plays a major role in removing Seroquel from the body. Some drugs inhibit this enzyme and cause Seroquel levels to remain high in between doses. Increased drowsiness, dizziness, cognitive and motor impairment may result. Seroquel's side effects can even be deadly, especially in older adults.

No studies to date document any drug interactions between Seroquel and melatonin. A 2009 review of melatonin drug interactions published in "Natural Medicine Journal," did not mention quetiapine as a potential risk. AstraZeneca, the makers of Seroquel, do not mention melatonin in the drug's prescribing information. Melatonin is not a CYP4503A inhibitor. Seroquel's blocking effect of serotonin does not interfere with melatonin's function or disposition in the body. Both Seroquel and melatonin have sedative effects. Caution should be taken if the two are taken together. Increased sluggishness, drowsiness or dullness of mind may put you at risk of injury due to falls or accidents from driving or operating dangerous equipment.