Posted by Larry Hoover on December 6, 2003, at 14:41:31
In reply to Please...Question about 5HTP safety.., posted by jay on December 6, 2003, at 14:04:54
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> I have heard some of the so-called negatives of 5HTP, (peak-x I think one is called). Does anyone know of solid, longterm research of 5HTP?
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> Thanks kindly,
> JayI'm a trained analytical chemist....I understand the technology used, and the limitations of the data collected.
Peak-X, the term, was first used to describe an unidentified contaminant isolated from the tryptophan that was causing EMS. The method for isolating that peak was chromatographic....it separates out the contaminant from what is supposed to be there, but it doesn't tell you what the contaminant is, exactly. That takes a lot of extra work, and the contaminant then has to be explained in terms of the processing of the tryptophan and the fermentation that came before that, and so on. The contaminant has been identified, and it is a unique product of the fermentation process, i.e. a product of microbial metabolism.
Anyway, some people put some 5-HTP through a similar chromatographic process, and there was a peak that appeared right about where Peak-X did in the contaminated tryptophan. But, so what?
5-HTP comes from a plant extract, from an African shrub called Griffonia. Plant extracts are full of stuff other than your intended isolate. There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of extra peaks in a chromatograph of 5-HTP. Just because something comes off the column at the same time as this Peak-X does not mean it's the same contaminant. That is a totally bogus thing to suggest, and is nothing more than coincidence presented in a fear-mongering way.
EMS was a known disorder before anybody started using tryptophan or 5-HTP. It is not surprising that some people taking tryptophan or 5-HTP get the disorder, by coincidence. People get sick. It happens. But considering the number of people safely using both tryptophan and 5-HTP, you can be darn sure we'd know about it if there was anything to worry about....darn sure of that. The pharmaceutical companies would be all over it.
Just my opinionated 0.02,
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:287162
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031204/msgs/287175.html