Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1990 Nov;20(3):185-91.
doi: 10.1016/0165-0327(90)90143-v.

Decreased plasma tryptophan concentration in major depression: relationship to melancholia and weight loss

I M Anderson  1 , M Parry-Billings, E A Newsholme, J R Poortmans, P J Cowen
Affiliations

Decreased plasma tryptophan concentration in major depression: relationship to melancholia and weight loss

I M Anderson et al. J Affect Disord. 1990 Nov.

Abstract

Plasma total tryptophan (TRP) concentration was significantly lower in 31 patients with major depression compared to a healthy control group. The ratio of plasma TRP concentration to that of other branch chain amino acids (the TRP:BCAA ratio) was also decreased. Further analysis revealed that the decrease in plasma TRP and TRP:BCAA ratio was most apparent in patients with major depression and melancholia. Overall, women but not men had significantly decreased plasma tryptophan concentrations, perhaps because of a contributory effect of weight loss; this latter effect, however, could not be distinguished clearly from a diagnosis of melancholia. Our data suggest that in some depressed patients, reductions in plasma tryptophan availability may contribute to abnormalities in brain 5-hydroxytryptamine function.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types