Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
Clin Nutr. 2010 Oct;29(5):610-6. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2010.01.003. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Reduced brain serotonin function is involved in stress-related disturbances and may particularly occur under chronic stress. Although serotonin production directly depends on the availability of its plasma dietary amino acid precursor tryptophan (TRP), previously described effects of tryptophan-rich food sources on stress-related behavior are rather modest. Recently, an egg protein hydrolysate (EPH) was developed that showed a much greater effect on brain TRP availability than pure TRP and other TRP-food sources and therefore may be more effective for performance under stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of EPH compared to placebo protein on plasma amino acids, stress coping and performance in subjects with high and low chronic stress vulnerabilities.
In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study, 17 participants with high and 18 participants with low chronic stress vulnerabilities were monitored for mood and performance under acute stress exposure either following intake of EPH or placebo.
EPH significantly increased plasma TRP availability for uptake into the brain, decreased depressive mood in all subjects and improved perceptual-motor and vigilance performance only in low chronic stress-vulnerable subjects.
The acute use of a TRP-rich egg protein hydrolysate (EPH) is an adequate method to increase plasma TRP for uptake into the brain and may be beneficial for perceptual-motor and vigilance performance in healthy volunteers.
大脑血清素功能的降低与应激相关的紊乱有关，并且可能在慢性应激下尤其发生。虽然血清素的产生直接取决于其血浆膳食氨基酸前体色氨酸（TRP）的可用性，但先前描述的富含色氨酸的食物来源对与应激相关的行为的影响相当有限。最近，开发了一种鸡蛋蛋白水解物（EPH），它对大脑 TRP 可用性的影响比纯 TRP 和其他 TRP 食物来源大得多，因此在应激下的表现可能更有效。本研究的目的是研究 EPH 与安慰剂蛋白相比对高、低慢性应激易感性个体的血浆氨基酸、应激应对和表现的影响。
在一项安慰剂对照、双盲、交叉研究中，17 名高慢性应激易感性个体和 18 名低慢性应激易感性个体在急性应激暴露下接受 EPH 或安慰剂摄入后，监测情绪和表现。
EPH 显著增加了大脑摄取的血浆 TRP 可用性，降低了所有受试者的抑郁情绪，仅改善了低慢性应激易感性受试者的知觉运动和警觉性表现。
急性使用富含 TRP 的鸡蛋蛋白水解物（EPH）是增加大脑中 TRP 摄取的有效方法，可能对健康志愿者的知觉运动和警觉性表现有益。
