Recently the Mayo Clinic released some info on contaminated 5-htp. They purchased 6 brands of 5-htp from over-the-counter health food stores and found all six to contain "low levels of a contaminant called 'Peak X' ".
The product we sell is not one of these six contaminated brands |
To our knowledge the brand of 5-HTP that we sell has no extraneous contaminants, Furthermore, the FDA will not release any Information or standards related to the supposed contaminant "peak-X". Our material is tested prior to and following encapsulation by Independent FDA approved laboratories. It should be noted that 5-HTP is not the same as tryptophan and that the manufacturing of the raw materials are completely different. 5-HTP Is an all natural ingredient extracted from a plant in Africa called "griffonla simplicafolia". On the other hand, tryptophan originates from a bacterial fermentation process, which, in 1989, became a problem due to a single adultered batch that contained high amounts of a contaminant (peak-E). We are Currently looking to test our material by more sophisticated methods looking for micromolar amounts of 2-(3-indolyl)-L-tryptophan, another contaminant found in EMS related symptoms. Doctors have recommended and consumers have been using 5-HTP successfully for a better Part Of two Years. When used prudently or as directed by a health care Professional there are no known side effects.
You may read the entire Mayo Clinic report on their web site at http://208.240.153.40/mayo/9808/htm/diet.htm