Application

5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan has been used:to inject experimental mice for serotonin detectionas a precursor of 5-hydroxytryptamine and injected in pregnant mice and neonatal rats for vital neutral red staining of lung slicesas 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.

Caution

Light sensitive

General description

5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP) is naturally found in Griffonia simplicifolia.

Other Notes

Tandem Mass Spectrometry data independently generated by Scripps Center for Metabolomics is available to view or download in PDF. H9772.pdf Tested metabolites are featured on Scripps Center for Metabolomics METLIN Metabolite Database. To learn more, visit sigma.com/metlin.