SINCE 1828
tryptophan
noun
tryp·to·phan
| \ ˈtrip-tə-ˌfan
\
\
variants:
or less commonly tryptophane \ ˈtrip-tə-ˌfān
\
\
Definition of tryptophan
: a crystalline essential amino acid C11H12N2O2 that is widely distributed in proteins
Examples of tryptophan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For those of us who inevitably (and understandably) will get caught up in celebrating our love of rich chocolate and tryptophan-producing poultry, dad's special day may fall by the wayside. — Elizabeth Buxton, refinery29.com, "Last-Minute Amazon Finds You Can Gift In Time For Father's Day," 10 June 2019 And neither of those is nearly as effective a delivery system for crisp skin, gravy and tryptophan. — Elizabeth G. Dunn And Matthew Kronsberg, WSJ, "The Battle for Thanksgiving Heats Up," 31 Oct. 2018 Having carbs like white rice, pasta or white potatoes at dinner as a side is another way to increase levels of tryptophan, and thus serotonin and melatonin. — Denise Foley, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get to Sleep Fast: 8 Simple Ideas," 27 Dec. 2012 Soy and coconut aminos include building blocks like tryptophan and arginine that are essential to the formation of muscles and that supposedly remove toxins from our bodies. — Kyle Beechey, Bon Appetit, "The Mysterious Hippie Food Brand That's Never Let Me Down," 27 June 2018 The tart treats, which contain calming tryptophan and melatonin, also reduced participants' anxiety levels. — Tori Rodriguez, Woman's Day, "10 Ways to Use Your Senses to Beat Stress," 20 May 2016 Without niacin, the body cannot produce tryptophan, an essential amino acid. — Ben Crair, Smithsonian, "Why Are These Hamsters Cannibalizing Their Young?," 21 Feb. 2018 As Mike McRae points out for Science Alert, a 1968 paper investigating psilocybin’s biosynthesis theorized that the process began with a molecule of tryptophan, an essential amino acid. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Scientists Unlock Magic Mushrooms’ Mysterious Chemical Compound," 18 Aug. 2017 As Mike McRae points out for Science Alert, a 1968 paper investigating psilocybin’s biosynthesis theorized that the process began with a molecule of tryptophan, an essential amino acid. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Scientists Unlock Magic Mushrooms’ Mysterious Chemical Compound," 18 Aug. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tryptophan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tryptophan
tryptophan
noun
tryp·to·phan
| \ ˈtrip-tə-ˌfan
\
\
variants:
also tryptophane \ -ˌfān
\
\
Medical Definition of tryptophan
: a crystalline essential amino acid C11H12N2O2 that is widely distributed in proteins
—abbreviation Trp
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