(biochemistry) An essential amino acid with an indole side chain; present in many foods, especially chocolate, oats, banana and milk; it is essential for normal growth and development and is the precursor of serotonin and niacin; any specific form of this compound, or any derivative of it.
Used in a Sentence
tryptophan
Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for tryptophan.
Editorial note
One of the ingredients is NAD, which is made from tryptophan or aspartic acid, both of which are amino acids.
Examples17
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(biochemistry) An essential amino acid with an indole side chain; present in many foods, especially chocolate, oats, banana and milk; it is essential for normal growth and development and is the precursor of serotonin and niacin; any specific form of this compound, or any derivative of it.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of tryptophan gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for tryptophan.
noun
(biochemistry) An essential amino acid with an indole side chain; present in many foods, especially chocolate, oats, banana and milk; it is essential for normal growth and development and is the precursor of serotonin and niacin; any specific form of this compound, or any derivative of it.
Example sentences
One of the ingredients is NAD, which is made from tryptophan or aspartic acid, both of which are amino acids.
The mystery is that it is almost identical to serotonin and tryptophan.
It can be caused by decreased intake of niacin or tryptophan,[1] and possibly by excessive intake of leucine.
> One of the ingredients is NAD, which is made from tryptophan or aspartic acid, both of which are amino acids.
Insulin stimulates the uptake of valine, leucine, and isoleucine into skeletal muscle, but not uptake of tryptophan.
The problem with muscle meat, ignoring the claims of the article under discussion, is far too much tryptophan and not enough glycine.
This results in a chronic excess of tryptophan and a major deficiency of glycine.
DMT is nearly identical to serotonin and tryptophan, and similar to psilocybin and mesclaine.
In the brain, tryptophan is converted to serotonin, which is then converted to melatonin.
No amount of supplementation will fix this, because tryptophan hydroxylase is the bottleneck.
I've seen enough information that I believe it's worth noting glycine and lysine and tryptophan intake for this reason.
Eg friends of mine in grad school were studying depression via tryptophan depletion.
Quote examples
Moneyquote: "In organisms, NAD+ can be synthesized from simple building-blocks (de novo) from the amino acids tryptophan or aspartic acid.
The "turkey causes sleepiness" meme is about tryptophan in the meat boosting serotonin levels.
We're all familiar with the "thanksgiving turkey effect", which has very little to do with tryptophan and lots to do with the large meal.
Proper noun examples
For example, L-Tryptophan, an essential (again, meaning that you cannot make it) amino acid is rapidly absorbed by the body and is used to make more serotonin (among other things).
Chase that 5-HTP with some L-Tryptophan.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use tryptophan in a sentence?
One of the ingredients is NAD, which is made from tryptophan or aspartic acid, both of which are amino acids.
What does tryptophan mean?
(biochemistry) An essential amino acid with an indole side chain; present in many foods, especially chocolate, oats, banana and milk; it is essential for normal growth and development and is the precursor of serotonin and niacin; any specific form of this compound, or any derivative of it.
What part of speech is tryptophan?
tryptophan is commonly used as noun.