CAM Review: 5-HTP

With a lot of CAM and Integrative Medicines lurking in the market today, you just might not know you are already purchasing one. But because of the desire for illness to get cured, trials are made to those medicines which are said to heal even without scientific bases. From this, labs and medical practitioners identify medicines even without doing a clinical testing but mainly on observations of what a certain herb or supplement can do to a person.

The Peterson Group, an online community with an aim to identify the real effects of Contemporary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Integrative medicines to be able to determine its importance to the society. One supplement that was to our attention is 5-hydroxytriptan, better known as 5-HTP which is being used by some people in an effort to support their mental health and immune system.

5-HTP has been used for a variety of conditions including anxiety, various sleep disorders, hyperactivity disorders, cerebellar ataxia, depression, primary fibromyalgia syndrome, and migraines. This type of CAM is mostly used in developing cities like Jakarta, Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand.

However, medicinal use of 5-HTP has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and much of the information available regarding 5-HTP's use is anecdotal and not supported by research. FDA fears that the supplement is one of the products manufactured by fraudulent importers who take advantage of the mainstream demand of the product and its price.

It's also important to note that not all of the research available on 5-HTP includes studies done in humans, and more research is needed to determine if 5-HTP is a safe or effective supplement. Although FDA and the authorities have not done any arrest on the illegal exchange of 5-HTP, they never lack warning individuals on the possibility of scam.

For what it’s worth, 5-HTP is said to have the following effects:

• 5-HTP and Weight Loss - Some studies show that 5-HTP appears to help support weight loss by causing a decrease in appetite.

• 5-HTP and Anxiety - Given the fact that 5-HTP is a building block or precursor to the mood-enhancing chemical serotonin, scientists have explored the potential benefit of 5-HTP in lowering anxiety.

• 5-HTP and Depression - Because of serotonin's known benefit in treating depression, 5-HTP is thought to possibly play a beneficial role in alleviating the symptoms of depression.