The griffonia plant (Griffonia simplicifolia) plant is a shrub native to West and Central Africa. Griffonia is a member of the Fabaceae family, which is commonly referred to as the legume, pea, or bean family. The shrub grows to about 3 meters in height and is characterised by a green flower and a black seed pod. The seed pods are of interest because they contain a chemical called 5-hydroxytryptophan. The 5-hydroxytryptophan in the seeds is of interest because it is a direct precursor to the brain neurotransmitter serotonin. Seeds are produced commercially in Ghana and they are dried and extracts containing 5-hydroxytryptophan are produced. The dried seeds may contain up to 20 % by dry weight of 5-hydroxytryptophan, making then a very rich source of the compound. Traditionally, griffonia seed extracts have been used in African medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal problems including diarrhea and stomachache. The seed extracts may also have antibiotic effects.
Evidence suggests that the 5-hydroxytryptophan in extracts of griffonia seeds is absorbed in humans and animals. Once in the body, 5-hydroxytryptophan can be decarboxylated, and this converts the 5-hydroxytryptophan to serotonin. This serotonin is therefore free to act on tissues in the body including the gastrointestinal tract. Alternatively, the 5-hydroxytryptophan may pass into the brain where it is converted to serotonin. Therefore 5-hydroxytryptophan in able to increase brain levels of serotonin. Inhibition of decarboxylation in the body tissues, may increase the amount of 5-hydroxytryptophan that reaches the brain, thus increasing serotonin levels further. Because of their ability to raise brain levels of serotonin, extracts of griffonia seed may be a useful treatment for depression and anxiety, where low levels of serotonin are present. Griffonia may also be a useful treatment for insomnia as serotonin in the direct precursor to melatonin, the primary regulator of the sleep wake cycle.
The griffonia plant is also a source of preformed serotonin, which is present in the seeds at concentrations of 20 mg per gram in the seeds. Griffonia extracts are usually sold either as a crude extract of the plant, or as an extract standardised for 25, 50 or 100 mg or 5-hydroxytryptophan. Because 5-hydroxytryptophan is converted to serotonin in the body, there can be some effects on the gastrointestinal tract. This explains its use as a treatment for diarrhea and stomachaches in traditional African medicine. Evidence suggests that 5-hydroxytryptophan has an excellent safety record, with a lack of serious adverse effects in the literature, despite 20 years of use as a treatment for mental disorders. The anxiolytic effects of 5-hydroxytryptophan may be due to increases in serotonin. However, other neurotransmitters including dopamine, noradrenaline, melatonin and beta-endorphin also increase after supplementation with 5-hydroxytryptophan. This provides a unique alteration to brain chemistry, which may be far more useful that simply raising brain levels of serotonin in isolation.
The anxiolytic effects of griffonia have been investigated in animals. For example, in one study, researchers administered Griffonia simplicifolia seed extract at various doses to rats. The results of the study showed that the extracts caused significant reductions in the anxiety experienced by the rats when exposed to stressful conditions. By increasing levels of melatonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan may also be able to aid with regulation of the sleep wake cycle. As disrupted sleep quality is a common side effect in both depression and particularly anxiety, 5-hydroxytryptophan may therefore be useful in the treatment of sleep. In healthy subjects administration of 5-hydroxytryptophan increases the duration of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, and decreases the amount of non-REM sleep, without affecting total sleep time. Rapid eye movement sleep is associated with the dream state of sleep. However, it is not clear what these effects have in terms of treating depression.
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