@inbook{221361a1d80a4a7c850951e143e5fc80,
title = "5-HTP (5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan) Content and Antioxidant Capacities of Wild Griffonia simplicifolia Seed Populations from Ghana and Liberia",
abstract = "Griffonia simplicifolia is a legume indigenous to western sub-Saharan Africa. A remarkable feature of this plant is that its seeds contain as much as 20% 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) by weight, making it the most abundant natural source of this amino acid. 5-HTP is a widely consumed alternative treatment for depression, insomnia, anxiety, weight loss, and fibromyalgia in many countries. Griffonia seeds are wildcrafted, making the harvest and gathering of this non-timber forest product an important income-generating activity for many communities in Ghana and Liberia. Seeds of 10 native Griffonia populations were collected from various sites in Ghana and Liberia to gain an understanding of the variability in 5-HTP content among the different seed populations using high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet. The 5-HTP content of seeds at two different stages of maturity (nearly to completely black endosperms vs. yellow endosperms) were also measured and compared to provide further quality guidance to collectors and commercial exporters. The antioxidant capacities of these 10 Griffonia seed populations were also measured using the 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazolin-6-sulfonic acid) assay. The 5-HTP content in the seeds from each population across Ghana and Liberia were very similar ranging from 110.23 mg/g to 137.04 mg/g. The Ghanaian seed populations were slightly higher in 5-HTP content than the Liberian seed populations averaging 129.27 mg/g and 115.23 mg/g, respectively. The 5-HTP content of seeds with yellow endosperms was 110.96 mg/g while seeds with strongly discolored endosperms contained 70.37 mg/g. The antioxidant capacities of all Griffonia seed populations ranged from 163.65 mg of trolox equivalence antioxidant capacity (mgTEAC)/g to 257.36 mgTEAC/g and averaged 216.51 mgTEAC/g with Ghanaian seed populations averaging 247.07 mgTEAC/g and Liberian seeds averaging 196.14 mgTEAC/g.",
author = "Giurleo, {Daniel J.} and Juliani, {H. Rodolfo} and Amakuse, {Larry S.} and Dartey, {Julie Asante} and Qingli Wu and Simon, {James E.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank the Ghanaian and Liberian communities who invited us and allowed us to work with them in the seed collection of this undervalued non-timber forest product. We also thank our ASNAPP-Ghana team who assisted in the collection and gathering of the Griffonia seed samples. This work was funded in part by the USAID{\textquoteright}s Office of Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade. This project built upon our prior public and private sector partners in Ghana, and as such, we were honored to work with the Ghana Export Promotion Council, the Ghana Export Development and Investment Fund, the Ghana Forestry Commission, the Ghana Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ghana Standards Board, the Trade Investment Program for Competitive Export Economy, the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine, and the Practitioners and Botanical Products Association of Ghana. This project was also supported by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University, and our New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program, and it was used in the graduate studies by the senior author. We thank Dave Hall, Yark Kolva, Nate Bowdwitch, and Andrew Baird from RTI and the team of the Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development for providing logistical assistance. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 American Chemical Society.",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.1021/bk-2020-1361.ch011",
language = "English (US)",
series = "ACS Symposium Series",
publisher = "American Chemical Society",
pages = "239--247",
booktitle = "ACS Symposium Series",
address = "United States",
}