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5HTP vs L-Tryptophan

C

C10H12N20

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
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259
Since it sounds like domestic L-Tryptophan (5HTP precursor) has been quietly allowed to be sold in the US, I wanted to examine the topic of 5HTP vs L-Tryptophan. Some books on 5HTP mention that L-Tryptophan is a better alternative to 5HTP (better absorption though BBB etc)... Has anybody heard more on this theory? I would imagine that 5HTP is better cause it's closer to serotonin in the process...
 
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5-HTP is good in that it passes the blood-brain barrier much more rapidly than l-tryptophan, but is also suffers from a major drawback: the 5-HTP --> 5-HT (serotonin) occurs with the assistance of l-aromatic amino decarboxylase, which occurs pretty much everywhere in the body. Most cells in your body contain this enzyme, and the net effect is that <1% of 5-HTP actually makes it to your brain.

l-tryptophan is more efficient in making it to your brain, but 5-HTP is faster... ultimately l-tryptophan is probably a better supplement to postload with, but due to the long half-life for l-tryptophan --> serotonin conversion many people are unhappy with it -- they'd much rather take a pill that fixes them up a little bit within an hour than one which fixes them a lot more within 12 hours...
 
So one could assume that 5HTP is better for postloading MDMA if you want quick results, and L-Tryptophan works better as an antidepressant?
 
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There is a theory that 5HTP can create Serotonin in the body and that can cause a heart attack, it's not proven but as a precaution i take 5HTP with magnesium. I wonder since L-Tryptophan is more efficient, maybe magensium is not necessary.
 
5-HTP will cause serotonin production anywhere that L-AAAD is found. If you don't mind serotonin floating around parts of your brain where it's not necessarily supposed to be, then by all means take 5-HTP. I for one feel that the method which causes the least disruption for the brain/body is the best way to go, so I take L-tryptophan.

Also, the body uses L-tryptophan to make vitamin B3, not just serotonin.


X
 
What about carcinogenic effects of L-Tryptophan that people talk about... Does L-Tryptophan have more carcinogenic properties than 5htp?
 
Carcinogenic?

If someone wants to provide reliable references that orally administered L-trytophan is carcinogenic then by all means, please do.

Your body/brain need L-tryptophan, it's an essential amino acid. Most amino acids can be synthesized endogenously, L-tryptophan cannot. If L-tryptophan is carcinogenic it's news to me, and if it is, well that's the biggest catch-22 I've ever seen.


X
 
(Picking apart http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Infor...esearch/htp.htm)

Compared with L-tryptophan, 5-HTP is one step closer to serotonin in the body's manufacturing process. In addition, far more 5-HTP is converted to serotonin (70% versus 1-3% ), because
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Actually 100% of 5-HTP is converted to serotonin at some point. This isn't necessarily a good thing.

the body uses a large percentage of dietary L-tryptophan to make therapeutically irrelevant compounds (e.g., kynurenine, vitamin B3).
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Vitamin B3 (niacin) is therapeutically irrelavent?

Nutr Cancer. 2003;45(1):124-31. (Chronic DNA damage and niacin deficiency enhance cell injury...)

Mutat Res. 2002 Oct 31;508 (1-2):83-97. ("...Niacin supplementation may help to protect the bone marrow cells of cancer patients...")

J Nutr. 2002 Jan;132(1):108-14. ("...niacin deficiency alters poly(ADP-ribose) metabolism in the bone marrow and increases the risk of nitrosourea-induced leukemias.")

In addition, consumption of L-tryptophan produces potentially toxic, carcinogenic compounds, especially under the very conditions (stress, anxiety) for which people have used L-tryptophan.
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I've never seen something called "potentially toxic" and "carcinogenic" in the same sentence. Wouldn't something that is carcinogenic HAVE to be toxic? Furthermore, I see no evidence that L-tryptophan intake is associated with any sort of increased cancer risk.

And, 5-HTP is extracted from an African herb (Griffonia simplicifolia), making it inherently safer than a synthetically produced compound like L-tryptophan.
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Cyanide can be extracted from peach pitts. Does this make it safer than the products of NaOH + HCl synthesis (water and table salt)?


X
 
ahhh now this is getting me worried about which is best, or if taking either is worth while... lol
 
Amazing what people will make up to sell shit... It sounds to me that L-Tryptophan is the way to go, at least for me. I found 5HTP short lasting, and when I take it, I get a mood swing on the downside five hours later. I will definitely try L-Tryptophan. Thanks for great input.
 
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Thanks for your input Adam X... it is, as always, useful and substantiated.
 
C10H12N20 said:
There is a theory that 5HTP can create Serotonin in the body and that can cause a heart attack, it's not proven...
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And there isn't anything in the medical literature suggesting that this is the case, either.
 
(From VelocideX ) - I'd be inclined to agree that getting serotonin being produced in cells in which serotonin is not normally found is, a priori, probably not good. Cell membranes and other separative structures exist for a reason -- to keep some chemical reactions away from others. Whilst it might not have any effect, it might also have some as-of-yet unknown effect.
 
I have read that increased intake of 5-HTP leads to cardiovascular issues. Good for the head, but not the heart, apparently.
 
BlueMind,

That's why you need to take 5HTP with magnesium. The theory goes that 5HT (serotonin) build acts as vasocontrictor... Magnesium on the other hand, helps to relax muscles, soft tissues and arteries... But look above, there might be no cardiovascular risk at all.
 
My problem with the 5-HTP --> serotonin = extra cardiovascular issues is that MAO is found quite prominently in the blood. I'm not sure of the exact concentrations, but would the serotonin simply not be oxidised by MAO-B in the blood? (I do realise that MAOA is the preferred substrate, but both are equally capable are they not?)
 
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