tryptophan
Noun
Meaning
an amino acid that occurs in proteins; is essential for growth and normal metabolism; a precursor of niacin
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Hypernyms
Phrases with the word
Examples
Although cooking lowers concentrations of amino acids such as tryptophan, lysine, total aromatic, and sulphur-containing amino acids, their contents are still higher than proposed by the FAO/WHO reference.
An alternative explanation for the 1989 EMS outbreak is that large doses of tryptophan produce metabolites which inhibit the normal degradation of histamine and excess histamine in turn has been proposed to cause EMS.
Germination decreases lysine, tryptophan, sulphur and total aromatic amino acids, but most contents are still higher than proposed by the FAO/WHO reference pattern.
However, no solid data have ever linked modest dietary changes in tryptophan to changes in sleep.
In 2001 a Cochrane Review of the effect of 5-HTP and tryptophan on depression was published.
In animals including humans, serotonin is synthesized from the amino acid L - tryptophan by a short metabolic pathway consisting of two enzymes : tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) and aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (DDC).