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Tryptophan Nutrition and Metabolism: An Overview

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Kynurenine and Serotonin Pathways

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 294))

Abstract

Tryptophan (TRP) was the first amino acid to be recognized as being essential for normal growth of young animals when Wilcock and Hopkins (1906) and later Osborne and Mendel (1914) observed its ability to stimulate weight gain in mice and rats when added to low TRP rations. Subsequent studies in a variety of species confirmed that TRP was essential for normal growth and, furthermore, was required for maintenance of nitrogen equilibrium in mature animals. Some years after those early animal studies, Rose and collaborators (1957) demonstrated that TRP was an essential amino acid for human nutrition.

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Peters, J.C. (1991). Tryptophan Nutrition and Metabolism: An Overview. In: Schwarcz, R., Young, S.N., Brown, R.R. (eds) Kynurenine and Serotonin Pathways. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 294. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5952-4_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5952-4_32

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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