Affiliation:
1. Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of Ministry of Education and Joint International Research Laboratory of
Ethnomedicine of Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of Guizhou Province and Laboratory
Animal Center, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
2. The Collaborative Innovation Center of Tissue
Damage Repair and Regeneration Medicine of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
Abstract
Abstract:
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases,
characterized by the reduction of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. Levodopa,
as a dopamine supplement, is the gold-standard therapeutic drug for PD. The
metabolism of levodopa in the periphery not only decreases its bioavailability but also
affects its efficacy. Thus, it is necessary to investigate how levodopa is metabolized.
A growing number of studies have shown that intestinal bacteria, such as
Enterococcus faecalis, Eggerthella lenta and Clostridium sporogenes, could
metabolize levodopa in different ways. In addition, several pathways to reduce
levodopa metabolism by gut microbiota were confirmed to improve levodopa
efficacy. These pathways include aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC)
inhibitors, antibiotics, pH and (S)-α-fluoromethyltyrosine (AFMT). In this review, we
have summarized the metabolic process of levodopa by intestinal bacteria and
analyzed potential approaches to reduce the metabolism of levodopa by gut
microbiota, thus improving the efficacy of levodopa.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Pharmacology (medical),Psychiatry and Mental health,Neurology (clinical),Neurology,Pharmacology,General Medicine