In spring, many people experience mood swings and sleep disturbances: the sudden increase in daylight and temperatures has an impact on the sleep-wake cycle; it is also the season when the consequences of a heavier diet and sedentary lifestyle typical of the cold season become evident. Let’s discover together a tropical plant that can help us.
Griffonia simplicifolia (DC.) Baill. is an evergreen climbing shrub, native to the rain forests of West Africa, traditionally used in African folk medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments, mainly in the form of chewing small sticks obtained from the stem and the root.
As also emerges from a very recent review, published in 2024 in the journal Challenges (Beneficial Properties and Sustainable Use of a Traditional Medicinal Plant: Griffonia simplicifolia), Western phytotherapy began to take an interest in it in the 1970s, mainly because the seeds of this plant, belonging to the Fabaceae (pea family), similar to beans, are a vegetal source of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP).
In humans, 5-HTP derives from an essential amino acid, tryptophan, which we normally ingest through the diet: it is indeed contained in egg whites, dairy products, meat, and fish, but also in dark chocolate and some seeds. Once ingested, tryptophan is converted into 5-HTP, which is the direct precursor of serotonin, the so-called “happiness hormone.”
For this reason, extracts of Griffonia simplicifolia have been widely studied for their action on the central nervous system, to regulate mood, sleep, and appetite, particularly for their beneficial properties in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and food craving.
A 2011 in vivo study published in Phytomedicine (Anxiolytic-like effect of Griffonia simplicifolia Baill. seed extract in rats) demonstrated the anxiolytic effect of Griffonia seed extract in rats, suggesting a potential benefit for the treatment of anxiety in humans.
The role of serotonin in food intake and in the homeostasis between energy intake and energy expenditure has been studied for decades, and it is now established that an alteration in serotoninergic regulation mechanisms is associated with overweight and obesity.
A 2009 study published in the International Journal of Obesity (Satiety and amino-acid profile in overweight women after a new treatment using a natural plant extract sublingual spray formulation) showed how a formulation including plant extracts naturally containing 5-HTP could induce a significant increase in the sensation of satiety, resulting in an improvement in the main indicators of overweight or obesity, such as body mass index, skinfold thickness, and hip circumference.
A very recent update by EFSA of the Novel Food status Catalogue has concerned this plant, specifying that seeds and extracts of Griffonia simplicifolia (Vahl ex DC.) Baill. seeds up to maximum 30% 5-HTP, like our 100% Made in EPO extract, are not considered novel foods in food supplements; 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), regardless of whether it is chemically synthesized or selectively extracted from the seeds, continues to be a novel food.
To find out more about our high-quality aqueous extract obtained from the seeds of Griffonia simplicifolia (DC.) Baill., standardized ≥ 20% 5-HTP, 100% Made in EPO, identified through DNA barcoding, click here.