Bloody Berry, Green Glow and Calm Choco all include L-tryptophan as part of the amino acid base.
L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid. Your body cannot make it. It has to come from food or supplements. Once inside, tryptophan is the starting material for serotonin, the brain chemical linked to mood. Serotonin is then converted into melatonin, the hormone that runs the sleep-wake cycle.[1]
If she has landed on this page she is likely asking one question. Why is tryptophan paired with collagen in nōuxx Cycle Routine. Collagen is a near-complete protein but contains almost no tryptophan. Adding L-tryptophan to a collagen base closes that gap so the protein supports both connective tissue and the serotonin pathway.[1]
Forms of L-tryptophan
Supplements use two related compounds. L-tryptophan is the amino acid itself, the same form found in food. Once absorbed it competes with other large amino acids to cross into the brain. 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) is one step further along the pathway. It crosses the blood-brain barrier without competing with other amino acids and acts faster on serotonin levels.[1]
Whole-food sources of tryptophan include turkey, eggs, dairy, tofu, pumpkin seeds and oats. The famous turkey-and-tiredness association is overstated. A typical meal delivers around 300 to 600 mg of tryptophan, well below the doses used in clinical sleep research.[2] Collagen is the exception. It is rich in glycine and proline but contains almost no tryptophan. This is why nōuxx pairs collagen with added L-tryptophan.[1]
How much you need
The World Health Organization sets the minimum dietary requirement for tryptophan at around 4 mg per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 65 kg woman that is roughly 260 mg from food. Most omnivorous diets cover this several times over.[1]
Clinical research on sleep and mood uses higher doses. Trials testing tryptophan for sleep quality typically use 0.25 g to 1 g or more. The 2022 meta-analysis below found the strongest sleep effect at doses of 1 g and above.[2] The amount in nōuxx Cycle Routine sits well below that therapeutic range. It is intended to round out the amino acid profile of the collagen base rather than to act as a high-dose sleep aid.
The science on women's health
Sleep
A 2022 systematic review collected 18 articles on tryptophan and sleep, with data from four used in the meta-analysis. It found less time awake after initially falling asleep, particularly at doses of at least 1 g. Other sleep measures did not improve.[2] This does not establish a sleep effect at the amount used to complement the collagen in nouxx Cycle Routine.
EU authorised health claims
Under EU law, no specific health claim is currently authorised for L-tryptophan. The European Food Safety Authority has not approved a mood or sleep claim because the available evidence has not yet met the EU bar for cause-and-effect in healthy adults at typical supplemental doses.
The amount of L-tryptophan in nouxx Cycle Routine complements its collagen base. Research at higher doses does not establish a sleep benefit for this amount.[2] We do not make formal health claims for L-tryptophan.
References
[1] Gao K, Mu CL, Farzi A, Zhu WY. Tryptophan metabolism: a link between the gut microbiota and brain. Advances in Nutrition 2020;11(3):709-723. doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmz127
[2] Sutanto CN, Loh WW, Kim JE. The impact of tryptophan supplementation on sleep quality: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression. Nutrition Reviews 2022;80(2):306-316. doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuab027
