Posted by Larry Hoover on September 26, 2003, at 16:54:26
In reply to Re: Tryptophan vs 5HTP Please Help!!, posted by matthhhh on September 24, 2003, at 17:47:49
> i didnt think that tryptophan was illegal in the US , i know of a few other US companies that sell tryptophan but it is much more expensive
Tryptophan was completely banned by the FDA, but with no fanfare, the ban was lifted in 1994. For some of the details, here's an info sheet from the FDA website:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-tryp1.html
The critical bit of information is the intended use for the tryptophan. If for human consumption, the manufacturer is wholly responsible for the safety of the product. That's why the price is now so high for products marketed for human use. The FDA could no longer reasonably ban the product, but they could put in force regulations not applied to any other supplement, guaranteeing that the price would be high. A cynic would argue that any company marketing tryprophan for human use is doing so to make windfall profits.
Lar <a cynic>
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:256950
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20030903/msgs/263575.html