← The FormularyAfter hours5-HTP
Also known as 5-hydroxytryptophan, griffonia seed extractThe only ingredient here with a genuine drug interaction.
Sold for depression, anxiety, sleep and appetite. We claim none of those, and neither should anyone else at this evidence grade. What makes it worth stocking is that people already take it — and the ones who do deserve to read the interaction somewhere other than a forum.
The compound the body makes from tryptophan on the way to serotonin. Supplemental 5-HTP is extracted from the seeds of the West African griffonia vine.
Crosses into the brain and is converted to serotonin, bypassing the rate-limiting step that controls tryptophan.
Supports normal serotonin levels. That is the whole defensible claim.
Adults taking nothing serotonergic. That qualifier is the important half of the sentence.
Daily, with water, before a meal. Not an as-needed product.
Nothing acute. If anything is felt at all, it is over weeks.
Read the interaction list before the benefit list. Then read the dose, if the manufacturer publishes one — many do not.
Read the labelDO NOT COMBINE with SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, tramadol, triptans, St John's wort or serotonergic recreational drugs. Serotonin syndrome is a medical emergency, not a side effect.
Evidence grades describe how well an ingredient is studied — A well-supported, C emerging — not a promise of results. Educational, not medical advice. Doses are typical ranges; follow the label on the product.