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This study was designed to assess the effect of chronic dietary administration (2.5 and 5.0% by weight) of the neutral amino acid, L-tryptophan, on the development of hypertension during chronic exposure to cold. In addition, a warm-adapted and cold-treated control group receiving unsupplemented food were used. Chronic administration of the lower dose of L-tryptophan (850 mg/day) prevented the elevation of blood pressure attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, and had no effect on body weight during exposure to cold. The higher dose of L-tryptophan (1,690 mg/day) attenuated the rate of blood pressure increase, did not affect cardiac hypertrophy, attenuated the gain in body weight, and increased the urinary output of epinephrine. Thus, this dose may be associated with some toxicity. Both doses of tryptophan failed to prevent certain other responses characteristically occurring during exposure to cold: i.e. increased weight of the kidneys, adrenal glands and brown adipose tissue; increased food and water consumption; increased dipsogenic responsiveness to angiotensin II, and increased plasma aldosterone concentration. The results indicate that chronic dietary administration of L-tryptophan (850 mg/day) can prevent the development of cold-induced hypertension, as it can in all other models of hypertension tested thus far in rats.

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