Merck, M0534-1G, 5-Methyl-DL-tryptophan

Application

Amelioration of colitis through modulation of gut microbiota: The metabolite 5-Methyl-ᴅʟ-tryptophan (5-MT), derived from Angelica sinensis polysaccharides, was found to ameliorate colitis by modulating gut microbiota and the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. This suggests a potential application of 5-MT in inflammatory bowel disease research and therapy (Zou et al., 2023).

Enzymatic synthesis of tryptophan derivatives: A study on the one-pot enantioselective synthesis of (S)-spirobrassinin and non-natural (S)-methylspirobrassinin from amino acids highlights a method using a turnip enzyme. This research outlines a novel approach to synthesizing tryptophan derivatives, potentially useful in biochemical assays (Ryu et al., 2021).

Biochem/physiol Actions
5-Methyl-DL-tryptophan inhibits the synthesis of anthranilate compounds that are the first steps in the biosynthesis of tryptophan in Neurospora crassa. 5-Methyl-DL-tryptophan is a corepressor of the E. coli trp repressor.
5-Methyl-DL-tryptophan may be used to select genetic mutants of PS strain of Methanococcus voltae (archaebacteria). 5-Methyl-tryptophan is a repressor trp operon expression. 5-Methyl-tryptophan is a substrate for tryptophanase. 5-Methyl-tryptophan inhibits the induction of anthranilate synthase activity by elicitors in oats.