Tryptophan Problems
Wire Service: APn (AP US & World)
Date: Mon, Aug 31, 1998
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of
the Associated Press.
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The new version of a popular food supplement may have
the same contaminant as a form banned nearly a decade ago after being
associated with a rare and occasionally deadly blood disease, researchers
from the Mayo Clinic report.
L-tryptophan was pulled from the market in 1990 after a contaminated form
of the product, made in Japan, was associated with nearly 1,500 cases of
eosinophilia myalgia. More than 30 deaths occurred. The amino acid had been
used by an estimated 15 million Americans as a remedy for depression,
premenstrual syndrome and insomnia. While a contaminant known as "peak X"
was identified in that product, researchers could not determine whether the
rare blood disease resulted from that contaminant, excess L-tryptophan
itself or a combination of the two.
Since then, the supplement was replaced by a version called
5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan which is sold over the counter and promoted for
variety of problems by several manufacturers. Now, low levels of a similar
contaminant have been found in both synthetic and natural versions of the
new product, says a research team headed by Stephen Naylor and Dr. Gerald
Gleich. Their findings are being published in the Sept. 1 edition of the
journal Nature Medicine.
Gleich told a briefing they are not aware of any cases of illness
associated with products currently on the market. But, he added: "We
believe the potential is there." Some health books recommend large doses of
this supplement, he noted, urging caution on anyone taking it. "We do not
know what safe doses are," Naylor added. The Food and Drug Administration
said is it trying to confirm the Mayo finding.
In 1994, Congress passed a law prohibiting the FDA from regulating dietary
supplements unless they are marketed as drugs -- by claiming to treat or
prevent diseases -- or prove to be an unreasonable health risk. Illnesses
that the researchers called eosinophilia myalgia-like were suffered by a
family taking the newer version of the product in 1991, they said.
The Mayo researchers purchased six different samples of the new product in
the Rochester, Minn., and New York City areas. They declined to name the
manufacturers of the samples they tested. "In all six commercial
preparations of 5-OH-Trp analyzed, peak X was detected at levels between
about 3 percent and 15 percent of that observed in" the product implicated
in the 1991 case. The lower levels of contaminant may be why no new cases
of the illness have been reported, they suggested.
Many products being sold are capsules ranging from 25 milligrams to 100
milligrams. In the 1991 case, a 28-year-old woman became ill after taking
50 milligrams to 70 milligrams daily, though that product had higher levels
of the contaminant. But the researchers said at least one book recommends
taking 300 milligrams to 900 milligrams daily. That amount, they said,
could raise intake to levels that might cause illness.
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