What forms of tryptophan are found in dietary supplements?
Until 1989, tryptophan supplementation was standard practice
in many countries around the world - including the United States - to treat
insomnia, depression, and anxiety.
In the summer and fall of 1989, hundreds of people
taking tryptophan supplements in the U.S. began to
report the development of serious side effects including muscle and joint pain,
high fever, weakness, swelling of the arms and legs, and shortness of breath, a
constellation of symptoms that later became known as eosiniphilia-myalgia
syndrome (EMS).
Upon investigation, it was discovered that nearly all
of the cases of EMS could be traced back to a contaminant found in one batch of tryptophan produced by a Japanese manufacturer
called Showa Denko K.K.
While all manufacturers of supplemental tryptophan synthesized this amino acid through a
fementation process using bacteria, several months before the outbreak of EMS,
Showa Denko K.K. had altered its process to make it more efficient and was
apparently unaware that a toxic contaminant was being produced.
The United States Food and Drug Administration took
immediate steps to limit the availability of tryptophan,
and since 1989 this amino acid has not been sold as a dietary supplement. Tryptophan is still available, however, for use
in the manufacture of infant formulas and entereral and parenteral
(intravenous) nutritional supplements prescribed by physicians.
This supplement is called 5-hydroxytryptophan or
5-HTP. The reason is simple: the body ordinarily takes tryptophan and converts it into 5-HTP, and then
takes the 5-HTP and converts it into serotonin.
Foods high in tryptophan....
introduction-to-nutrient-rating-system.
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