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Anti‐parkinson botanical Mucuna pruriens prevents levodopa induced plasmid and genomic DNA damage
Author(s) -
Tharakan Binu,
Dhanasekaran Muralikrishnan,
MizeBerge Janna,
Manyam Bala V.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.2219
Subject(s) - levodopa , chelation , chemistry , divalent , mucuna pruriens , dna , dna damage , pharmacology , biochemistry , parkinson's disease , biology , medicine , disease , botany , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry
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. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.