Evidence
Become informed about evidence, dosage, safety and side effects of 5-HTP.
Now that you have learned about how herbs and supplements can be used for treatment, go to the next section to begin learning about behavioral treatments for depression.
Studies of 5-HTP suffer from some of the same methodological flaws as many other natural products. Of the 108 studies of 5-HTP or tryptophan identified by the Cochrane group for systematic reviews in 2001 and 2004 (Shaw), only two met quality inclusion criteria for analysis. In these two studies, involving 64 patients, 5HTP or tryptophan supplements did show better results than placebo in the treatment of depression. The small sample size obviously limits the generalizability of the findings, but the results are intriguing and further research is warranted.
