From mixmag March 1999, words by Gordon Carson:

 

* Is 5-HTP the key to happier Tuesdays ?

High street shops are selling a legal food supplement which promises a serotonin boost which will ease ecstasy comedowns. But scientists are divided over wether the pills are safe and wether they work at all.

5-HTP (or 5-Hydroxytrypyophan) tablets can be bought in health shops like Holland & Barret. They contain griffonia seed extract, which some nutritionists believe can help the brain produce more serotonin.

The pills can be used to "pre-load' - the practice of taking vitamins and various other supplements before a night on E to buffer the user against any negative effects. A typical 5-HTP dose is 200mg before going out, and the same before going to bed. Some clubbers take 5-HTP for a few days both before and after taking E.

South Londoner Dean says: "I've been taking 5-HTP for about a year with MDMA. I was getting bad comedowns before 5-HTP; now they're much smoother. The whole feeling is more like doing E for the first time."

But many scientists are doubtful. Although 15-million Americans are taking 5-HTP to fight obesity, insomnia and depression, US nutritionists Victor Herbert believes they are victims of the manufacturer's hype: "If you talk to any scientist, they will tell you that most of us make serotonin all the time."

One leading British neurologist, Professor Curzon, goes further. He believes supplementing ecstasy with 5-HTP could be dangerous. "The dangers would be pretty unpredictable. Ecstasy has a wide range of effects and some might be increased by 5-HTP."

British manufacturer Larkhall Green Farm in London sells 5-HTP as a natural alternative to Valium and has primarily introduced the drug into Britain for that reason.

The company's technical consultant said: "We don't advocate taking it either with drugs or as an alternative."

 

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