Comparison
Melatonin vs Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Melatonin
Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Low doses (0.3-1mg) often outperform higher doses for sleep.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Universal antioxidant active in both lipid and aqueous environments. Supports mitochondrial function and AGE reduction.
| Field | Melatonin | Alpha-Lipoic Acid |
|---|---|---|
| Category | neuroprotective | neuroprotective |
| Dose range | 0.3–3mg | 300–600mg |
| Half-life | 1h | 1h |
| Onset | 30min | — |
| Evidence | EVIDENCEA | EVIDENCEA |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ |
| Legal (US) | USOTC | USOTC |
| PubMed refs | 28000 | 1900 |
The comparison in plain English
Auto-generated from dataMelatonin and Alpha-Lipoic Acid are both in the neuroprotective category respectively. Melatonin Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Alpha-Lipoic Acid Universal antioxidant active in both lipid and aqueous environments.
Bottom line
Melatonin (evidence A, safety 5/5) matches the evidence base of Alpha-Lipoic Acid (evidence A, safety 4/5). Melatonin has the slightly cleaner safety profile. For users new to either, the higher-evidence option is the safer first try.
Choose Melatonin if
Melatonin is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Endogenous hormone produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness, signalling the circadian sleep window) and the dose range (0.3–3mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is 1h.
Choose Alpha-Lipoic Acid if
Alpha-Lipoic Acid is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (A 'universal' antioxidant — uniquely active in both lipid (cell membrane) and aqueous (cytoplasm) environments because of its dithiol functional group) and the dose range (300–600mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is 1h.