5-hydroxytryptophan (5-htp), Dr. Abhay Kumar Pati

July 11, 2010 - PRLog -- 5-HYDROXYTRYPTOPHAN (5-HTP), Dr.Abhay Kumar Pati, CEO Best Nutrition USA

DESCRIPTION
Researchers have discovered that many of us suffer from a little-known deficiency of serotonin in brain tissue. An important neurotransmitter, serotonin regulates key functions related to mood, sleep, and appetite. Deficiencies can result in mild to severe depression, weight problems, and migraine headaches.
Prescription drugs such as Prozac, which increases availability of serotonin in the brain, have been developed to treat depression. However, side effects of Prozac and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) can be significant. Researchers have been conducting studies, which show that you can increase serotonin availability by taking supplements of the metabolic precursors of serotonin, the amino acids tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). Unfortunately, tryptophan was removed from the market as a supplement. However, 5-HTP, which is the next precursor on the metabolic pathway to serotonin, is available for use as a supplement and has actually proven to be superior to tryptophan in clinical trials, potentially providing a safer alternative to drugs such as Prozac.
When double blind clinical trials compared tryptophan to 5-HTP in treating depression, the 5-HTP was found to be clearly superior. Other studies conducted by a team of Swiss and German psychiatric researchers headed by Dr. W. Poldinger of the Psychiatric University of Basel, Switzerland showed a nearly equal reduction in treating depression with 5-HTP as compared to the anti-depressant drug, fluvoxamine. 5-HTP also appeared to be better tolerated.
Other studies have shown significant reductions in anxiety with 5-HTP. In a study of 20 people with panic disorders, several experienced relief after taking 5-HTP.
5-HTP has been used to treat depression and anxiety. One of serotonin’s metabolic pathways leads directly to the production of melatonin, a sleep-enhancing hormone. 5-HTP, as a serotonin precursor, has therefore been used to relieve insomnia.
5-HTP has also been used to treat obesity and migraine headaches. An Italian study conducted on 20 obese patients showed that the patients taking larger doses of 5-HTP experienced a significant weight loss, had less carbohydrate intake and consistently ate less than the placebo group. The study concluded that 5-HTP was well tolerated and could be safely used as an obesity treatment. A Spanish study showed 71 percent improvement in migraine sufferers, while Italian researchers confirmed a 90 percent improvement in headache severity, frequency and duration with 400 mg/day of 5-HTP for a period of 2 months.

THERAPEUTIC USES
•    depression
•    anxiety and insomnia
•    obesity
•    migraine headaches

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Dr.Abhay Kumar Pati, Best Nutrition Products, Inc.Hayward, California, USA and Biotechayur, Odisha, India manufacturer of a large number of bestnutrition, glutathione, ashwagandha, gymnema, diabotica, gugul, psyllium, boswella, vitamins, minerals, Chinese and Ayurvedic herbal, nutritional supplements, phytochemicals, raw materials of standardized molecules of plants and fruit extracts. Dr. Abhay Kumar Pati, is a physician, author, entrepreneur and industrialist based in the United States, having ventures across the globe. Dr.Pati states that many of our health problems and diseases can be prevented, treated well with lifestyle, food habits and nutritional supplements. Most of the fruit contain ascorbic acid, enzymes, bioflavonoids, rich in minerals like chromium, potassium, and magnesium etc as well as B vitamins to amino acids.