Posted by Ron Hill on March 23, 2002, at 17:40:57
In reply to Re: SAM-e Oddity., posted by colin wallace on March 23, 2002, at 15:53:55
Colin,
Now you've got me wanting to cut one in half and try your experiment out on myself.
-- Ron
-------------------------> I'm really at a loss to explain this (I've been experimenting for a few weeks now to be entirely certain), but when I SPLIT a Sam-e (enteric coated)pill, I actually get a significantly greater antidepressant response than I do when taking the entire pill.I'm not just talking about immediacy, which would perhaps be explicable in terms of SOME Sam-e reaching the brain quicker than it otherwise would have, had the absorption been via the intended intestinal route.I mean, simply, a noticably better/quicker/sustained antidepressant response.
> This I will concede, is entirely implausible, as Sam-e is NOT well absorbed through the stomach; indeed, all empirical evidence suggests that it is actually destroyed in the stomach (hence the need for an enteric coating).
> I cannot even hazard a guess as to what's occurring here- any theories are most welcome.
>
> Afterthought:
> As I delve deeply into the vaguaries of memory,I recall reading an article explaining that l-tryptophan was a poor supplemental choice, due to seratonin mechanisms being somehow used and (seratonin) being abstracted by the stomach prior to reaching the brain; 5htp supplements circumvented this problem, instantly crossing the blood/brain barrier (excuse the blurred science here, this is dredged up from an equally blurred memory).
> Any connection here?I'll admit, I'm fumbling in the dark, and will duly go and do some research!!
poster:Ron Hill
thread:98301
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020322/msgs/99688.html