1. L-tryptophan L-tryptophanium chloride
V V Ghazaryan, M Fleck, A M Petrosyan Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2015 Feb 5;136 Pt B:743-50. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2014.09.090. Epub 2014 Sep 30.
L-tryptophan L-tryptophanium chloride is a new salt with (A⋯A(+)) type dimeric cation. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system (space group P2(1), Z=2). The asymmetric unit contains one zwitterionic L-tryptophan molecule, one L-tryptophanium cation and one chloride anion. The dimeric cation is formed by a O-H⋯O hydrogen bond with the O⋯O distance equal to 2.5556(18) Å. The infrared and Raman spectra of the crystal are studied and compared with the spectra of L-tryptophanium chloride.
2. Safety of 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan
Yesu T Das, Manashi Bagchi, Debasis Bagchi, Harry G Preuss Toxicol Lett. 2004 Apr 15;150(1):111-22. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2003.12.070.
5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP) is the immediate precursor in the biosynthesis of 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT; serotonin) from the essential amino acid L-tryptophan (L-Trp). The use of L-Trp as a dietary supplement was discontinued in 1989 due to an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) that was traced to a contaminated synthetic L-Trp from a single manufacturer. 5-HTP has since become a popular dietary supplement in lieu of the removal of L-Trp from the market. Because of its chemical and biochemical relationship to L-Trp, 5-HTP has been under vigilance by consumers, industry, academia and government for its safety. However, no definitive cases of toxicity have emerged despite the worldwide usage of 5-HTP for last 20 years, with the possible exception of one unresolved case of a Canadian woman. Extensive analyses of several sources of 5-HTP have shown no toxic contaminants similar to those associated with L-Trp, nor the presence of any other significant impurities. A minor chromatographic peak (peak X) reported in some 5-HTP samples lacks credibility due to chromatographic artifacts and infinitesimal concentrations, and has raised undue speculations concerning its chemistry and toxicity.
3. A systematic review of the effect of L-tryptophan supplementation on mood and emotional functioning
Asako M Kikuchi, Aya Tanabe, Yoshihiro Iwahori J Diet Suppl. 2021;18(3):316-333. doi: 10.1080/19390211.2020.1746725. Epub 2020 Apr 10.
L-tryptophan (TRP), one of the essential amino acids in humans, is a precursor of serotonin, and hence its intake is closely related to the suppression of depressed and anxious moods. We did a systematic review of RCTs to examine the effects of tryptophan intake on the mood of healthy adults by searching PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Ichu-shi according to PRISMA guidelines. As a result, 11 RCTs met the criteria and were accepted. Four RCTs showed the effects of tryptophan intake on negative feelings and happy feelings in healthy individuals, with significant differences between the treatment and the control groups. This suggests that TRP intake may be an effective approach to decrease anxiety and increase positive mood in healthy individuals. On the other hand, the effectiveness of TRP for aggressive feelings was not recognized. Reviewing these 11 RCTs, we concluded that taking 0.14-3 g of TRP per day in addition to the usual meal can be expected to improve the mood of healthy individuals. In order to estimate the optimum amount of TRP intake more accurately, further studies need to be conducted with more appropriate settings of intake period, intake frequency, and intake method.
