What are the special features of our Tryptophan?

As an essential amino acid (EAA), L-tryptophan is essential for human life and is therefore also required for muscle building and muscle repair processes. In its capacity as a serotonin precursor, tryptophan is also a popular supplement, which is often taken before sleeping.

Tryptophan is optimized by a vitamin B complex for better assimilation and utilization.

What can I expect from Tryptophan?

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that you should take in isolation so that it can fulfil its function as a serotonin precursor. The overall effects of supplementation with tryptophan on muscle growth are rather indirect and depend very much on your further eating habits and the use of supplementary supplements (BCAAs, protein, creatine).

For an overall sufficient and constant amino acid supply, you should also supply yourself with fast (especially in the morning, before and after training) and slow proteins, so that the strong but short functional boost of tryptophan is supported by sufficient building substrates and muscle breakdown processes are avoided.

Functionality and mode of action of Tryptophan

In contrast to amino acids from normal food, protein concentrates or amino acid combinations, individual amino acids such as tryptophan have the advantage that they can unfold their very special functionality in isolation. This can only happen if the individual amino acid dominates, i.e. enters the blood pool as isolated as possible. In the case of fully-fledged protein sources, on the other hand, a large number of amino acids always enter the blood pool at the same time, whereby the amino acids compete to a certain extent for supremacy. In this respect, individual amino acids should preferably be taken on an empty stomach.

Just like the BCAAs leucine, isoleucine and valine, tryptophan is an essential amino acid and thus absolutely necessary for the build-up of muscle and cell mass as well as many endogenous proteins. Athletes often consume protein concentrates low in tryptophan, which is why a supplementation with tryptophan makes sense in many cases.

In addition to its role as a muscle building material, which all 8 EAAs fulfil together, tryptophan is often supplemented because of its role as a serotonin precursor.

Thus, tryptophan is endogenously produced from tryptophan and, with the participation of the enzymes tryptophan hydroxylase and aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, serotonin is formed in an intermediate step.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and tissue hormone, which is also colloquially referred to as "happiness hormone" and has various functions, including mood, sleep-wake rhythm and appetite.