--- "Jose J. Ortiz-Carlo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >From: Sonja van Baardwijk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> > >Contaminated tryptophan killed a couple of people. > The FDA tracked the > >problem I think. Did find this on the subject > > > >http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-tryp1.html > ><http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/ds-tryp1.html> > > > >http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-ltr1.html > ><http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/ds-ltr1.html> > > My two cents.. > > My therapist always used to say that this situation > was blown out of > proportion by the drug company activists who say > their likelihood threatened > by a very powerful contender like Tryptophan. How > much of this was actually true, I can't say.
Part of the problem is that when you take a naturally-occuring chemical like L-tryptophan, which is one 'active sleep-inducing component' found in a mug of warm milk, and manufacture/process it, you often get by-products or "near-miss-molecules" that can be inert, active in a desirable way, or toxic to varying degrees. Here is a Mayo study that found a neurotoxin in one EMS-inducing preparation of tryptophan - and in some current over-the-counter (OTC) preps as well: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12508395&dopt=Abstract "...CONCLUSION: Peak X1 was identified as the putative neurotoxin Trp-4,5D. It was found in case-implicated 5-OHTrp as well as 6 OTC samples. This gives some cause for concern in terms of the safety of such commercial preparations of 5-OHTrp." This study found a similar contaminant in some commercial preparations of melatonin (which is a chemical produced in our brains in a circadian rhythm): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10721130&dopt=Abstract "...These latter contaminants are structural analogues of the case-associated peak "E" found in L-tryptophan implicated in onset of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome." <mini-rant> I must note that the supplement industry is also trying to protect their economic interests in these cases; in my book both the pharmaceuticals and the nutracuticals (?sp) are duking it out for our $$, and so I'd like oversight for both. I do think that many dedicated individuals work in both fields, but the top corporate dogs? How many see the bottom line as bucks? When greed surpasses good research, you get drug recalls for excessive deaths (frex Baycol); the standards for supplements are *much* lower in terms of liability and they don't have to prove safety+efficacy as do pharmaceuticals. <curls lip> Even though in the latter industry, suppression and/or falsification of data has occurred. >:/ Also, contamination of various OTC supplements has occurred, frex warfarin (rat poison) in an "herbal prostate shrinker" -- caveat emptor! (?sp on that last?) I'm folding in a response to the "Insomnia" thread here as well. Jan C wrote: >>Uh? Melatonin and Tryptophan are both drugs. JJ replied: >Your inquiry prompted me to do a little research. I quote the following excerpt from http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/ucdhs/health/a-z/27Insomnia/doc27.html >"It should be stressed that melatonin is currently classified as a dietary supplement and not as a drug, so its quality and effectiveness is uncontrolled in the US. (The United State is the only developed nation that does not regulate this agent.) Melatonin is a powerful hormone that can have major effects, many still unknown, on all parts of the body." [me] Note that melatonin is "*currently classified as*" a supplement and not a drug: this doesn't mean that it *shouldn't* be classified as a drug, or alternatively that 'dietary supplements' ought not be regulated in tighter fashion. If endorphins became commercially available, they most definitely should be classified as drugs. >Another note on Tryptophan from the same site: "Of note, melatonin is structurally similar to L-tryptophan, another natural agent that has been used for insomnia." >My former therapist swore by both Melatonin and Trytophan. She would buy Tryptophan from a company in LA that marketed it as a "pet medication", and then use it on herself. She even gave me a couple of samples, but it never worked well with me. Go figure... <grimace> Pet drugs/preparations have more lax standards than drugs intended for human consumption, so I'd "Just say no!" to such finegeling (sp?). Personal note: as a resident, insomnia was a real problem, and I too tried melatonin - it did work as a sleep-inducer, but invariably I woke up 2-3 hours later and then couldn't get back to sleep. More recent research has suggested that it does reasonably well for older people (over 60ish), whose internal production of melatonin declines with age, but works poorly for younger adults. It also seems to help some younger people who have documented low levels: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11186915&dopt=Abstract If warm milk and honey didn't work (tryptophan boost), I found that 1 or 2 caplets of St. John's Wort seemed to damp down the 'stress buzz' of my overworked/underslept brain enough to relax into sleep. For short-term use (a couple of days), OTC Benadryl can be helpful; I still find late-night PBS programming useful in sleep-induction as well. ;) Debbi who has used and recommended various supplements & herbals, but checks out available research beforehand (many herbals frex have been well-studied in many European countries, so even if not FDA-approved, I can feel confident that at least they won't do harm; some studies of herbals including Chinese plants are beginning or are soon-to-begin here as well) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
