Tryptophan Is Toxic To Brain; Taurine Reverses Toxic Effects

haidut

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Ray has written on the negative effects of tryptophan, cysteine and methionine to the overall health and especially the nervous system of an organism. These studies show that tryptophan is toxic even in physiological levels (1mM) and the effect is especially pronounced in the brain. The negative effects of tryptophan are due, among other factors, to decreases in catalase an SOD. Taurine administration at a human equivalent doses of 2g - 3g daily fully reversed the toxic effects of tryptophan on the brain. Vitamin E and vitamin C in human doses of 500mg and 1,500mg respectively also had protective effects.
As a side note, decreases in catalase are one of the reasons behind grey hairs. So, this may explain the role of tryptophan in grey hair, in addition to its accumulation in the hairs.

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luc ... 000000.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18425567

"...Despite the significant brain abnormalities, the neurotoxic mechanisms of brain injury in hypertryptophanemia are virtually unknown. In this work, we determined the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, 2',7'-dihydrodichlorofluorescein oxidation, reduced glutathione and the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in cerebral cortex from rats loaded with L-tryptophan. High L-tryptophan concentrations, similar to those found in hypertryptophanemic patients were induced by three subcutaneous injections of saline-buffered tryptophan (2 micromol/g body weight) to 30-day-old Wistar rats. The parameters were assessed 1 h after the last injection. It was observed that tryptophan significantly increased thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, 2',7'-dihydrodichlorofluorescein oxidation and reduced glutathione, whereas it reduced catalase activity. Pre-treatment with taurine (1.6 micromol/g of body weight), or alpha-tocopherol plus ascorbic acid (40 and 100 microg/g body weight, respectively) prevented those effects of tryptophan, reinforcing the hypothesis that tryptophan induces oxidative stress in brain cortex of the rats. Therefore, these findings also occur in human hypertryptophanemia or in other neurodegenerative diseases in which tryptophan accumulates, then oxidative stress may be involved in the mechanisms leading to the brain injury observed in patients affected by these disorders."
 

NathanK

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Re: Tryptophan is toxic to brain; taurine reverse toxic effects

Taurine is a pretty amazing "AA". No known real sides and so many benefits. So glad I started taking it this year as it's probably given me more 'bang' than any other substance I've ever tried.
 

answersfound

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Amazing. I drink about 2 RedBulls a day. And it always makes me feel great.
 

zooma

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answersfound said:
Amazing. I drink about 2 RedBulls a day. And it always makes me feel great.

I remember reading on here the major concern with red bull was the possibility that it contained BVO, is this still a concern?
 

Makrosky

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Re: Tryptophan is toxic to brain; taurine reverse toxic effects

NathanK said:
Taurine is a pretty amazing "AA". No known real sides and so many benefits. So glad I started taking it this year as it's probably given me more 'bang' than any other substance I've ever tried.

There's a side effect that has been mentioned by users of this board : excessive bile production.

Does it make anysense ?
 

NathanK

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Re: Tryptophan is toxic to brain; taurine reverse toxic effects

Makrosky said:
NathanK said:
Taurine is a pretty amazing "AA". No known real sides and so many benefits. So glad I started taking it this year as it's probably given me more 'bang' than any other substance I've ever tried.

There's a side effect that has been mentioned by users of this board : excessive bile production.

Does it make anysense ?
I know bile is largely comprised of taurine so is plausible
 
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haidut

haidut

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Re: Tryptophan is toxic to brain; taurine reverse toxic effects

NathanK said:
Makrosky said:
NathanK said:
Taurine is a pretty amazing "AA". No known real sides and so many benefits. So glad I started taking it this year as it's probably given me more 'bang' than any other substance I've ever tried.

There's a side effect that has been mentioned by users of this board : excessive bile production.

Does it make anysense ?
I know bile is largely comprised of taurine so is plausible

There are studies on PubMed showing large doses of taurine can cause pancreatitis in rats. Bu the doses were about 50g - 60g for a human, so not something realistic and worth worrying about. However, bile acid can irritate the gut and the study I posted on gut bacteria and serotonin found bile acid to stimulate serotonin production in the gut, which is consistent with it being a gut irritant.
 

answersfound

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zooma said:
answersfound said:
Amazing. I drink about 2 RedBulls a day. And it always makes me feel great.

I remember reading on here the major concern with red bull was the possibility that it contained BVO, is this still a concern?

Not sure, I will do some research
 

NathanK

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Re: Tryptophan is toxic to brain; taurine reverse toxic effects

haidut said:
NathanK said:
Makrosky said:
NathanK said:
Taurine is a pretty amazing "AA". No known real sides and so many benefits. So glad I started taking it this year as it's probably given me more 'bang' than any other substance I've ever tried.

There's a side effect that has been mentioned by users of this board : excessive bile production.

Does it make anysense ?
I know bile is largely comprised of taurine so is plausible

There are studies on PubMed showing large doses of taurine can cause pancreatitis in rats. Bu the doses were about 50g - 60g for a human, so not something realistic and worth worrying about. However, bile acid can irritate the gut and the study I posted on gut bacteria and serotonin found bile acid to stimulate serotonin production in the gut, which is consistent with it being a gut irritant.

Ah, this is good to know and to keep in the back of our mind while supplementing
 

milk_lover

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@haidut do you think topical taurine on hair will reduce trytophan in the brain faster than oral ingestion? And will that help prevent from premature grey hair?
 
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haidut

haidut

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@haidut do you think topical taurine on hair will reduce trytophan in the brain faster than oral ingestion? And will that help prevent from premature grey hair?

Doubt that applying on scalp goes to the brain more then when applying to neck or face. The scalp vessels do not really go into the brain due to the skull :):
But it may have this effect, and aspirin should too as it also interferes with tryptophan absorption and transport.
 

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