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Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
tryptophan

also tryptophane, complex amino acid, 1890, coined in German (1876) from trypto-, taken as a comb. form of tryptic "by trypsin" (see trypsin) + Greek phainein "to appear" (see phantasm).

Wiktionary
tryptophan

n. (context amino acid English) An essential amino acid having an indole side chain; it is present in many foods, especially chocolate, oats, bananas and milk; it is essential for normal growth and development and is the precursor of serotonin and niacin; any specific form of this compound, or any derivative of it.

WordNet
tryptophan

n. an amino acid that occurs in proteins; is essential for growth and normal metabolism; a precursor of niacin [syn: tryptophane]

Wikipedia
Tryptophan

Tryptophan (abbreviated as Trp or W; encoded by the codon UGG) is an α- amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated –NH3 form under biological conditions), an α- carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated –COO form under biological conditions), and a side chain indole, classifying it as a non-polar, aromatic amino acid. It is essential in humans, meaning the body cannot synthesize it and thus it must be obtained from the diet.

Tryptophan is also a precursor to neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin.

Usage examples of "tryptophan".

Somewhere deep inside me, strands of DNA were coding for alanine and tryptophan and other amino acids, building up the proteins of chemical memory for my brain to read.

A cup of tea had more caffeine, and the traces of tryptophan and anandamide were so small they barely registered.

Carbohydrates raise the level of the amino acid tryptophan in the bloodstream, which the brain uses to synthesize serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with sleep, analgesia, calm, and even the lifting of depression.

Since most of the abbreviations consist of the first three letters of the name, they are not difficult to memorize: glycine gly alanine ala valine val leucine leu asparagine asp'Ntb aspartic acid asp glutamine ghrNH2 glutamic acid glu THE HUMAN BRAIN isoleucine proline phenylalanine tyrosine tryptophan serine threonine ileu pro phe tyr try ser thr lysine histidine lys his arginine methionine arg met cystine cysteine cy-S-cy-SH Of the abbreviations that are more than the first three letters of the names, ileu, asp-NH2, and ghrNH2 should be clear.

East Coast, whose place of honor in the sinister Beverly Middle School drug-set was due entirely to his gift for transforming the kitchen of any vacationing parents' house into a rudimentary pharmaceutical laboratory, using like BBQ-sauce bottles as Erlenmeyer Flasks and microwave ovens to cyclize OH and carbon into three-ring compounds, synthesizing methylenedioxy psychedelics364 from nutmeg and sassafras oil, ether from charcoal-starter, designer meth from Tryptophan and L-Histidine, sometimes using only a gas-top range and parental Farberware, able even to decoct usable concentrations of tetra-hydrofruan from PVC Pipe Cleaner which at that time best of British luck ordering tetrahydrofruan from any chemical company in the 48 con tigs/6 provinces without getting paid an immediate visit by D.

But two amino acids—leucine and serine—are specified by six synonyms each, and others by four, three, two, or even just one: poor tryptophan is specified only by the word T-G-G.