L-tyrosine versus L-phennylaline

[ratboy83]

i've asked this question before on other discussion boards but have never received a definitive reply:frown: . my question is as follows: since most of the phennylaline ingested is converted to tyrosine anyway, why would anyone ever bother buying phennylaline as a means to raise dopamine/ noradrenaline levels rather than tyrosine, considering phennylaline is nearing twice the price!! does it have other benefits that tyrosine doesn't? is it more effective? i've noticed tyrosine being mentioned on a number of occasions on these boards but never phennylaline. surely it must have some benefit over tyrosine, or else why would it be on sale as an individual amino acid????? this has always confused me considerably. :wobblyeyes: (p.s. how cool is that smiley?!). anyone have any ideas? :lookaround:

alex.

[Bach]

If you feel as though you really need to increase dopamine levels I'd try SAMe. SAMe works more on raising dopamine than it does on serotonin. It's like rocket fuel to the brain for those who have slow brains and lack dopamine like myself.

[Kelly]

L-tyrosine is quite effective and not very expensive. I have never heard of phennylaline before which would cause me to pause... maybe that's why it's hard to get an answer about it. You should contact the companies that sell it and ask them what it's purported to do, as I have no idea. If you do that, please post what you find out here. Maybe a doctor or naturopath has a better idea.

kelly

[ratboy83]

researched phennylaline and worked out what the difference was. although 70% of phennylaline is converted to tyrosine, some used for protein synthethis, some is also use to make something called beta-phenylethylamine, known as PEA for short. PEA is a natural amphetamine that promotes mood, increases energy amd is closely linked to the dopamine system. it can be made from phennylaline but cannot be made from tyrosine. thought this as noteworthy as depressed people typically have virtually no PEA in their brains! PEA levels can also be raised by vigorous exercise and PEA is found in small amounts in chocolate and weed. so it seems that phennylaline can do something that tyrosine can't. what i did also read was that the D (synthetic) form of phennylaline is only metabolised into PEA and isn't converted to tyrosine at all (and so not dopamine and noradrenaline). i recently bought some DLPA (combo of L-pehnnylaline and D-phennylaine). have noticed a stronger benefit than what i got from the tyrosine. its raising my dopamine, noradrenaline and PEA levels. admittedly the down side is that its twice the price but still only £7.50 for 50 tablets, so not too bad. i'd encourage regular tyrosine users to try it out of interest for comparison value!

alex.

[maudlin]

The previous confusion came from a typo. What is converted to Tyrosine is Phenylalanine (not phennylaline), and this is done through phenylalanin hydroxylase. Phenylananine is also a precursor to PEA through aromatic amino acid decarboxylase using Vitamin B6. Now I wish I had paid better attention in chemistry class. But the advantage of Phenylalanine is that it can be converted to both, PEA and Tyrosine, the latter of which then again will be feeding into Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Epinephrine.

I think the statement that "depressed people typically have virtually no PEA in their brains!" (besides being inadvertently funny), is too strong. My PEA levels are normal, even a bit on the high side, but if GABA is dominating your brain, you will be just as depressed as someone who has no PEA. There are tons of ways to become depressed. It is important to find the individual mix that will help you get your brain back into balance.