5-HTP

[lrwiman]

Hi,

I'm curious if anyone is aware of any papers looking at the efficacy of treating depression with the amino acid 5-hydroxytryptaphan. I am looking for well controlled studies, and if you feel the desire to respond with "like all `holistic' medicine, this is crap," don't bother. Unlike most `holistic' medicines* there are sound physiological reasons for suspecting that this amino acid could treat depression, and reasons for suspecting that it couldn't. Namely, it is part of the biosynthetic pathway which your brain uses to produce serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), but it has a hydroxyl group on an aromatic ring, and such compounds are usually not absorbed into the brain from the blood very effectively.

Any information would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Lucas Wiman

* I'm using holistic in a very broad sense here. I suspect that most readers would class this compound as holistic because (1) it's not regulated by the FDA, and (2) it is extracted from plants. However, at one time, the same could be said of morphine (it's still extracted from plants).

[Rolfe]

Have you read Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold? I know it's only fiction, but that compound is important to the plot, and I'm pretty sure it's accepted as fact that it has significant physiological effects.

I don't know where the author got this from though.

Sorry, not a very useful contribution, please carry on....

Rolfe.

[Pantastic]

Tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptophan for depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. (1):CD003198, 2002.

BACKGROUND: 5 Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and tryptophan are so-called natural alternatives to traditional antidepressants, used to treat unipolar depression and dysthymia. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether 5-HTP and tryptophan are more effective than placebo, and whether they are safe to use to treat depressive disorders in adults. SEARCH STRATEGY: Trials were searched in computerized general (Medline, Psychlit, and Embase) and specialized databases (Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register, Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Controlled Trial Register); by checking reference lists of relevant articles; by handsearching relevant specialist journals; and by contacting relevant authors where appropriate. Publications in all languages were sought. SELECTION CRITERIA: Trials were included if they were randomized, included patients with unipolar depression or dysthymia, compared preparations of 5-HTP or tryptophan with placebo, and included clinical outcomes assessed by scales assessing depressive symptoms. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data was extracted independently by the three reviewers, onto data collection forms. Inclusion criteria were applied to all potential studies independently and a coefficient of agreement (Kappa) was calculated for them. Disagreement was resolved by reaching consensus. Trial quality was scored according to risk of bias. Analysis for 5-HTP and tryptophan were combined due to the small number of included trials. MAIN RESULTS: 108 trials were located using the specified search strategy. Of these, only two trials, involving a total of 64 patients, were of sufficient quality to meet inclusion criteria. The available evidence suggests these substances were better than placebo at alleviating depression (Peto Odds Ratio 4.10; 95% confidence interval 1.28-13.15; RD 0.36; NNT 2.78). However, the evidence was of insufficient quality to be conclusive. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: A large number of studies appear to address the research questions, but few are of sufficient quality to be reliable. Available evidence does suggest these substances are better than placebo at alleviating depression. Further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 5-HTP and tryptophan before their widespread use can be recommended. The possible association between these substances and the potentially fatal Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome has not been elucidated. Because alternative antidepressants exist which have been proven to be effective and safe the clinical usefulness of 5-HTP and tryptophan is limited at present.

[Wrath of the Swarm]

It's fairly unlikely that there will be substantive research on those compounds, as drug companies would find it difficult to make sufficiently large profit off of them.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I guess some university or nonprofit will have to do the research, then.

~~ Paul

[Gestahl]

Originally posted by lrwiman
Hi,

I'm curious if anyone is aware of any papers looking at the efficacy of treating depression with the amino acid 5-hydroxytryptaphan.

5-HTP has been used and recommended for several years by the drug community (the illicit one) as a way to build back up neurotransmitters, alleviating the "downs" as it were. Shulgin suggests it, and the theory is it provides "ready made" chemicals to make those head chemicals with. I have tried using it myself, and have yet to come up with a definitive subjective statement about it.

I would think that it would only be effective in treating depression if the problem was low production or depletion of neurotransmitters. I doubt it would help at all for low receptor count or re-uptake problems.

Just my amatuer $.02