[Influence of L.5-hydroxytryptophan (L.5-HTP) on the development of chick embryo]

L.5-hydroxytryptophan (L.5-HTP) injections provoke, in the chick embryo, some malformations of the nervous system, when treated at 24 hours of incubation. The same treatement after 48 hours of incubation does not lead to malformations, but to a reduction in size which is as much obvious as the embryos are treated at a later stage. It seems that there could be some relation between the serotonin metabolism and the growth hormon secretion.