tryptophan
[trip-tuh-fan]
|
noun Biochemistry.
an essential amino acid, (C8H6N)CH2CH(NH2)COOH, colorless, crystalline, and aromatic, released from proteins by tryptic digestion and a precursor of serotonin. Abbreviation: Trp; Symbol: W
Also tryp·to·phane [trip-tuh-feyn] /ˈtrɪp təˌfeɪn/.
Origin of tryptophan
1900–05; trypto- (irregular combining form representing Greek trīptós rubbed) + -phan(e)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for tryptophan
Contemporary Examples of tryptophan
Spaghetti squash also contains specific nutrients that help convert the tryptophan in other foods you eat into serotonin.
To be sure, tryptophan as a white pill, not a slab of white meat, is used by some as a sleeping aid.
So tryptophan at pretty big doses is a routine part of being a human on planet Earth.
Probably not—the tryptophan story provides us with the perfect cover for the real reason we so love the holiday.
The premise is this: turkey is chock-full of a soporific essential amino acid, tryptophan, one of the 22 essential amino acids.
Historical Examples of tryptophan
A test for the production of tryptophan was reported positive.
Trypsin: solution of small shreds of fresh fibrin in neutral and alkaline media, and tryptophan test.
tryptophan
noun
Word Origin for tryptophan
C20: from trypt (ic) + -o + -phan variant of -phane
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
tryptophan
[trĭp′tə-făn′]
n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
tryptophan
[trĭp′tə-făn′]
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.