Merck, H9772-25G, 5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan

General description
5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP) is naturally found in Griffonia simplicifolia.
Application
5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan has been used:
to inject experimental mice for serotonin detection
as a precursor of 5-hydroxytryptamine and injected in pregnant mice and neonatal rats for vital neutral red staining of lung slices
as a standard in citrate-acetate buffer for its use in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis

Biochem/physiol Actions
Immediate precursor of serotonin; L-aromatic amino acid decarboxylase substrate.
Hydroxylation of L-tryptophan occurs in the brain during serotonin synthesis. This is a step that controls the production of serotonin and also yields 5-hydroxy-l-tryptophan (5-HTP) as a metabolite. Thus, consumption 5-HTP, increases the serotonin level, which might result in depression, lack of sleep and severe headache.
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