Place in therapy
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid present in many plants and animal proteins. A typical diet contains 0.5-2g of L-tryptophan daily.1 The body absorbs tryptophan from dietary protein sources and converts it to 5-hydroxytrytophan (5-HTP) then to serotonin.1 L-tryptophan can cross the blood brain barrier and is believed to have sedative effects. Studies that investigated the effect of tryptophan on insomnia were of small population size and short duration.3 The tools used to evaluate efficacy were subjective and of various qualities.3 Current evidence from literature suggests that tryptophan might be effective in inducing sleep and decreasing sleep latency. 3,4 However there is no well-constructed clinical trial to provide clinically valid evidence to support the use of tryptophan for insomnia. Tryptophan can cause side effects such as heartburn, stomach pain, belching and flatulence, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dry mouth, blurred vision, ataxia and anorexia.2 It is also associated with 1500 cases of esinophillia-myalgia syndrome and 37 deaths in the U.S probably due to contamination of product.2 Due to the fact that insufficient evidence is currently available regarding the use of 5-HTP for sleep disorders and it is associated with undesirable side effects, tryptophan should not be recommended for the treatment of insomnia.
References
1) L-tryptophan. Natural Standard. Professional Monograph accessed at www.naturalstandard.com (July 2012)
2) Melatonin. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Professional Monograph. Accessed at http://naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com (July2012)
3) Dietrich Schneider-Helmert and Cheryl L. Spinweber. Evaluation of L-tryptophan for treatment of insomnia: A review. Psychopharmacology (1986) 89:1-7
4) Ernest Hartmann, J. Gila Lindsley, and Cheryl Spinweber. Chronic Insomnia: Effects of Tryptophan, Flurazepam, Secobarbital, and Placebo. Psychopharmacology (1983) 80:138-142
.
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid present in many plants and animal proteins. A typical diet contains 0.5-2g of L-tryptophan daily.1 The body absorbs tryptophan from dietary protein sources and converts it to 5-hydroxytrytophan (5-HTP) then to serotonin.1 L-tryptophan can cross the blood brain barrier and is believed to have sedative effects. Studies that investigated the effect of tryptophan on insomnia were of small population size and short duration.3 The tools used to evaluate efficacy were subjective and of various qualities.3 Current evidence from literature suggests that tryptophan might be effective in inducing sleep and decreasing sleep latency. 3,4 However there is no well-constructed clinical trial to provide clinically valid evidence to support the use of tryptophan for insomnia. Tryptophan can cause side effects such as heartburn, stomach pain, belching and flatulence, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dry mouth, blurred vision, ataxia and anorexia.2 It is also associated with 1500 cases of esinophillia-myalgia syndrome and 37 deaths in the U.S probably due to contamination of product.2 Due to the fact that insufficient evidence is currently available regarding the use of 5-HTP for sleep disorders and it is associated with undesirable side effects, tryptophan should not be recommended for the treatment of insomnia.
References
1) L-tryptophan. Natural Standard. Professional Monograph accessed at www.naturalstandard.com (July 2012)
2) Melatonin. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Professional Monograph. Accessed at http://naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com (July2012)
3) Dietrich Schneider-Helmert and Cheryl L. Spinweber. Evaluation of L-tryptophan for treatment of insomnia: A review. Psychopharmacology (1986) 89:1-7
4) Ernest Hartmann, J. Gila Lindsley, and Cheryl Spinweber. Chronic Insomnia: Effects of Tryptophan, Flurazepam, Secobarbital, and Placebo. Psychopharmacology (1983) 80:138-142
.