Posted by JLx on October 4, 2003, at 6:35:57
In reply to Re: Cleanest Brand of 5HTP?, posted by John1022 on October 3, 2003, at 18:59:51
> Anyone know the answer? I read somewhere on the Internet that 6 brands were tested and were shown to have peak X?
>
> One of the brands did not have any peak X? Can anyone direct me to this brand? Thank youIf you're referring to the Mayo Clinic "study" (done at the behest of the Dateline TV show and published as a letter to the editor of Nature magazine) then it's apparently a secret which brands they examined -- and all revealed Peak X anyway. There's a lot more to this story:
http://members.aol.com/pbchowka/dateline.html
http://www.erowid.org/smarts/tryptophan/tryptophan_info3.shtml
Imo, this is a tempest in a teapot instigated by Dateline, since there's been no follow-up warnings issued by anyone in the ensuing 5 years, nor has the FDA acted despite its public invitation to the public to report problems as noted in their news release: http://depression.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Elrd/tp5htp.html
Michael Murray, who wrote the book in 1998 that probably started all the interest, "5-Htp: The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia" (which I've read) says this on his website, apparently written in 1998: http://www.doctormurray.com/articles/mayo.htm
"All of the 5-HTP on the marketplace is free from peak X as outlined in current FDA methodology. It is identical in quality to what has been referred to as "uncontaminated" 5-HTP in previous studies. ...While the significance of peak X remains to be determined (it is not related to the major contaminants linked to EMS from contaminated tryptophan), my calculation is that it would require a dosage of roughly 10 times the highest dosage range that I recommend in my book (300 mg to 900 mg for weight loss) and over 20 times higher than the typical dosage range of 150 to 300 mg daily given for other conditions to equal the dosage levels of "peak X" given to the two small boys. ... There have also been no reported cases of EMS due to 5-HTP use despite its growing popularity. However, just to be on the safe side and relieve any fears, for people using higher dosages of 5-HTP (greater than 300 mg daily) for longer than 3 month periods, I would recommend getting a simple blood test to measure the level of eosinophils with every three months of use."
Murray also says in the 1999 interview linked (first) above:
"I think a lot of very good things came out of this experience. First of all, the response to the Mayo findings by the raw material suppliers and some of the distributors of 5-HTP was exemplary. The quality control process employed by all of the raw material suppliers of 5-HTP is exceptional. All of these manufacturers responded professionally and appropriately in my opinion to the Mayo findings by cooperating with the FDA in their analyses as well as by conducting their own necessary tests and analyses to ensure the safety of their product. When all is said and done the result of the Dateline piece will only be positive because it will eventually give people a sense of greater confidence in the safety and efficacy of 5-HTP."
I think he's right and don't worry about it myself.
iherb (which currently has a good price for Now brand 5-HTP) has some "Certificates of Analysis" on file, btw, though they're not too current: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/iherb/certificates.html
poster:JLx
thread:264895
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031003/msgs/265459.html