5-Hydroxytryptophan
(5-HTP) is an amino acid that is the middle step between tryptophan
and the important brain chemical serotonin.
Considerable
scientific evidence indicates that low serotonin levels are linked to
a number of common conditions including depression, obesity, fibromyalgia
and headaches. 5-HTP boosts serotonin levels and may offer benefit in
conditions linked to low serotonin levels. Commercially available 5-HTP
is isolated from a seed from an African plant (Griffonia simplicifolia).
Depression
There is excellent documentation that 5-HTP is an effective antidepressant
agent. 5-HTP often produces very good results in patients who are unresponsive
to standard antidepressant drugs. Several double-blind studies show
that 5-HTP is equal to or better than standard antidepressant drugs.
The study with the most significance was one that compared to fluvoxamine
(Luvox®), a "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor" like
Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. In the study, subjects received either 5-HTP
(100 mg) or fluvoxamine (50 mg) three times daily for 6 weeks. The percentage
decrease in overall depression scores was slightly better in the 5-HTP
group (60.7% vs. 56.1%). More patients responded to 5-HTP than fluvoxamine
and 5-HTP was quicker acting than the fluvoxamine.
The real advantage of 5-HTP in this study was the low rate of side effect.
The most frequent side effect with 5-HTP was mild nausea, but this only
occurred in less than one out of ten subjects. In contrast, antidepressant
drugs usually produce moderate to severe side effects in 20 to65% of
subjects.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a recently recognized disorder regarded as a common
cause of chronic musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. Fibromyalgia is a
relatively common condition estimated to affect about 4% of the general
population. 5-HTP can largely improve the painful picture of fibromyalgia
as demonstrated in several double-blind studies.
Headache
Because chronic headache sufferers have low levels of serotonin in their
tissues, some researchers refer to migraine and chronic headaches as
a "low serotonin syndrome." There have been several clinical
studies with 5-HTP in headaches, both migraine and tension headaches,
that have showed excellent results. In particular, 5-HTP is very effective
in the prevention of migraine headache.
Insomnia
Several clinical studies have shown 5-HTP to produce good results in
promoting and maintaining sleep in normal subjects as well as those
experiencing insomnia. One of the key benefits with 5-HTP in the treatment
of insomnia, is its ability to increase sleep quality.
Weight loss
As far back as 1975, researchers demonstrated that administering 5-HTP
to rats that were bred to overeat and be obese resulted in significant
reduction in food intake. It turns out that these genetically obese
rats have decreased activity of the enzyme that converts tryptophan
to 5-HTP and subsequently to serotonin. As a result, these rats never
get the message to stop eating until they have consumed far greater
amounts of food than normal rats.
There is much circumstantial evidence that many humans are genetically
predisposed to obesity. This predisposition may involve the same mechanism
as that observed in rats genetically predisposed to obesity. In other
words, many people may be predisposed to being overweight because they
have a decreased conversion of tryptophan to 5-HTP and, as a result,
decreased serotonin levels. By providing preformed 5-HTP, this genetic
defect is bypassed and more serotonin is manufactured. 5-HTP literally
turns off hunger.
The early animal studies that used 5-HTP as a weight loss aid have been
followed by a series of four human clinical studies of overweight women,
conducted at the University of Rome. These studies have shown that 5-HTP
is able to reduce caloric intake and promote weight loss even if the
women made no conscious effort to lose weight. 5-HTP appears to promote
weight loss by promoting satiety-the feeling of satisfaction-leading
to fewer calories being consumed at meals. In one study, the group that
received the 5-HTP lost an average of 4.39 pounds at six weeks and an
average of 11.63 pounds at 12 weeks. In comparison, the placebo group
had lost an average of only 0.62 pounds at six weeks and 1.87 pounds
at twelve weeks.
