{
  "slug": "5-htp",
  "name": "5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan)",
  "alternate_names": [
    "5-HTP",
    "5-Hydroxytryptophan",
    "Oxitriptan",
    "Griffonia simplicifolia seed extract"
  ],
  "mechanism": [
    "Immediate serotonin (5-HT) precursor that bypasses the tryptophan hydroxylase rate-limiting step and is decarboxylated by aromatic L-amino-acid decarboxylase directly to 5-HT (research model)",
    "Downstream substrate for the 5-HT -> N-acetylserotonin -> melatonin pathway (circadian/sleep mechanistic context)",
    "Crosses the blood-brain barrier without a transport carrier, raising central serotonergic tone in animal models (note: rat data show CNS effect may not require a measurable rise in whole-brain 5-HT)"
  ],
  "target": [
    "Aromatic L-amino-acid decarboxylase (AADC / DDC)",
    "5-HT (serotonin) synthesis pool",
    "Melatonin biosynthesis pathway",
    "Central serotonergic neurotransmission"
  ],
  "use_case": [
    "mood / emotional-balance research (research-context · human evidence sparse and mechanistic, not efficacy-grade)",
    "appetite / food-selection neural-response markers (research-context · fMRI pilot surrogate, not a body-weight endpoint)",
    "sleep-wake / serotonin-melatonin precursor pathway (research-context · direct human RCT evidence lacking; sleep data are animal or GABA-combination)"
  ],
  "body_system": [
    "NEURO",
    "MOOD",
    "SLEEP",
    "METABOLISM"
  ],
  "evidence_tier": "C",
  "evidence_anchor_pmid_count": 3,
  "dosage_range": "Educational reference, not a dosing recommendation. Research literature describes 50-100 mg taken before bed in the sleep/serotonin-precursor context and 300-900 mg/day in divided doses in older mood/appetite studies; common commercial unit strengths are 50-200 mg. Doses are framed by small, methodologically limited or mechanistic studies, not by confirmatory efficacy trials.",
  "safety_notes": "5-HTP single-monotherapy human EFFICACY RCT count = 0; direct meta-analysis/SR count = 0 -> double-axis grade = C (not the vault's B-/B framing). All cited sleep PMIDs are animal (Touret 1991 rat / Sallanon 1982 cat) or a Drosophila GABA-5-HTP COMBINATION (Hong 2016, PMID 26921634) and were EXCLUDED per NC §8.17 (non-human + combination). HARD vault safety line preserved verbatim: SSRI/SNRI/MAOI/tramadol/St John's Wort co-use = absolute contraindication (serotonin syndrome). FDA EMS history retained.",
  "regulatory": {
    "fda": "Legal dietary-supplement ingredient under DSHEA 1994 (sourced from Griffonia simplicifolia seed); structure/function claims only with the mandatory FDA disclaimer; no FDA-approved disease/health claim; FDA has historically issued an eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) association warning, so it is never accurate to call it FDA-approved",
    "efsa": "No EU-wide position and no authorized Reg 432/2012 health claim; member-state fragmentation — permitted as a food supplement in some states (e.g. historically Germany/UK), restricted or treated as medicinal in others; functional copy is not supported at EU level",
    "anvisa": "Regulatory classification unclear in Brazil; not an established listed food-supplement constituent — a functional ingredient would require case-by-case ANVISA assessment; no authorized functional claim. (Vault notes BR access path as uncertain.)"
  },
  "authorized_claims": [],
  "ingredient_hub_url": "https://asxan.ai/ingredients/5-htp/",
  "related_goal_slugs": [
    "cognitive-support"
  ],
  "related_lifestyle_slugs": [
    "high-stress"
  ],
  "last_evidence_review": "2026-06-13",
  "schema_version": "nc-public-v0.2",
  "api_version": "nc-public-v0.3",
  "_meta": {
    "last_evidence_review": "2026-06-13",
    "ip_axes_disclosed": {
      "public_axes": [
        "mechanism",
        "target",
        "use_case",
        "body_system",
        "evidence_tier",
        "dosage_range",
        "safety_notes",
        "regulatory",
        "authorized_claims"
      ],
      "ip_axes_not_exposed": [
        "proprietary_formula_ratios",
        "clinical_protocol_internals",
        "rnd_pipeline_compounds",
        "supplier_specific_grade_specifications",
        "unpublished_endpoint_data"
      ],
      "rationale": "asxan.ai surfaces the educational, evidence-tier-disclosed slice. Formula composition, clinical-protocol internals, and RnD pipeline data are intentionally outside this public surface."
    }
  }
}