L-Dopa administration is still considered the gold-standard for treatment when it comes to Parkinson’s Disorder, It has stood the test of time since the 1960s, and there are currently no other therapeutic options that produce as substantial a jump in dopamine reuptake in the brain as L-DOPA metabolism.
The understanding of how Parkinsonism affects the brain would help us understand why L-DOPA has been in use for decades now. Parkinson’s disease is caused by a decrease in the transmission power of dopaminergic neurons within the brain, or their loss of functionality. This leads to Parkinsonian symptoms similar to nervous palsy. Parkinson’s disease affects the “basal ganglia,” a region of the brain that regulates movement. The illness causes the basal ganglia’s cells to start deteriorating. It has been demonstrated by both clinical and experimental research that administering L-DOPA via intravenous or the oral route can reverse dopamine deficiency. Its relevance is demonstrated by the amount of homovanillic acid, the primary byproduct of dopamine breakdown, in patients’ CSF fluid both before and after oral L-DOPA was administered.
It has been noted that L-DOPA, in conjunction with the amino acid L-tyrosine, or tyrosine, increases dopamine reuptake and improves functioning, so substantially lessening the consequences of this illness.
The various sources of L-DOPA production—including bacterial, fungal, enzymatic, and plant sources—are covered in this article.
Mushroom tyrosinase has been commercialized for the enzymatic production of L-DOPA by enzyme immobilization. The use of reusable enzymes reduces production costs. Levodopa here was synthesized using catechol, sodium pyruvate, and ammonium acetate as substrates. Enzyme immobilization strategies include trapping in polymeric gels, adsorption onto insoluble materials, encapsulation in membranes, cross-linking using bifunctional or multifunctional reagents, and connecting to insoluble carriers.
Fungal species mostly produced L-DOPA in a reaction with substrate L-tyrosine and mycelia in the buffer. Specific additives were utilized as elicitors to increase yield of L-DOPA. The approach produced L-DOPA that was both enantiomerically pure and cost effective.Acremonium reticulum was used for biotransformation of L-DOPA from L-tyrosine, resulting in a higher level of L-DOPA in the broth by submerged fermentation.
L-DOPA is produced by many bacterial species in broth, buffer, substrate, and acclimatized cells. Using acclimatized cells with buffer resulted in faster and more successful results.
Plants were used as an alternative source for L-DOPA isolation and screening. Over 1000 species from 135 plant families were screened, including the most prevalent- Genus Mucuna. Other prominent ones more commonly found would be the callus cultures and shoots of bananas- it is known to “soothe the nervous system”, fava beans, broad beans, seed sprouts, and pods.
The biotechnological model is the most modern experimental technique for producing L-DOPA. One important way to avoid some of the restrictions that have been noted is to synthesize L-DOPA from microbial organisms using tyrosinase, tyrosine phenol-lyase, or p-hydroxyphenylacetate 3-hydroxylase post fermentation. To create L-DOPA artificially, it is being tested as a potential industry standard.
- Sohini Ghosh
