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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Induction and Assessment of Levodopa-induced Dyskinesias in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: October 14, 2021
Anti-Parkinson botanical Mucuna pruriens prevents levodopa induced plasmid and genomic DNA damage
Binu Tharakan1, Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran, Janna Mize-Berge
1Department of Neurology, Scott & White Clinic, Temple, Texas, USA.
Abstract:
Levodopa is considered the 'gold standard' for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, a serious concern is dyskinesia and motor fluctuation that occurs after several years of use. In vitro experiments have shown that in the presence of divalent copper ions, levodopa may induce intense DNA damage. Mucuna pruriens cotyledon powder (MPCP) has shown anti-parkinson and neuroprotective effects in animal models of Parkinson's disease that is superior to synthetic levodopa. In the present study two different doses of MPCP protected both plasmid DNA and genomic DNA against levodopa and divalent copper-induced DNA strand scission and damage. It exhibited chelation of divalent copper ions in a dose-dependent manner. The copper chelating property may be one of the mechanisms by which MPCP exerts its protective effects on DNA.
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