Posted by Sarah T. on March 27, 2005, at 19:47:34
In reply to Larry--It is safe to take 5-HTP long-term?, posted by Chris O on March 26, 2005, at 16:16:16
Hi Chris. Obviously, I'm not Larry, and I look forward to Larry's reply. In the meantime, I just want to say that I've been interested in 5-HTP, so I've read a bit about it in the last week or so. I found a transcript of an ABC News interview with several scientists discussing 5-HTP. One of the panelists is Richard Wurtman, a well-known scientist at MIT who has extensively researched serotonin and tryptophan. He is adamantly opposed to the use of 5-HTP. He said that it is not naturally present in our bodies and bloodstream, so it is not natural. He says that 5-HTP is made by certain cells in the brain, but immediately after it is made by those cells, it is destroyed or converted to another chemical (is that tryptophan?), so he cautions against using it in supplement form. When it is taken as a supplement, it is present in the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body, unlike 5-HTP in its natural state.
poster:Sarah T.
thread:475892
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050323/msgs/476408.html