Posted by Larry Hoover on May 24, 2003, at 14:23:08
In reply to Re: 5-HTP information - Larry, posted by Caleb462 on May 24, 2003, at 14:08:03
>
> http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/fulltext/5htp3-4.html
>
> "It easily crosses the blood-brain barrier"
>
> It does??? Well, damn, now I'm confused. So 5-HTP CAN cross the BBB and CAN be an effective AD? I thought it was all just hype.
>
> That begs the question, if supplemented 5-HTP can cross the BBB, then could supplemented serotonin itself cross the BBB? It shouldn't be possible, but neither should 5-HTP's crossing, right?I hesitate to draw conclusions, absent further information. The 5-hydroxylation changes the electron density sufficiently, I'd surmise, that 5-HTP has little affinity for the tryptophan transporter. Yet, there's convincing evidence that 5-HTP does get into the brain. Empiricism has to win out over rationalization; the stuff gets into the brain somehow.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:227441
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030520/msgs/228874.html