Co-administration of β-asarone and Levodopa increase dopamine in rat's brain via accelerating transformation of Levodopa: A different mechanism from madopar.
Huang L1, Deng M, Zhang S, Fang Y, Li L.
Author information
Abstract
The aim is to study the effect of β-asarone and levodopa (L-dopa) co-administration on increasing dopamine (DA) in the striatum of healthy rats. In this study, rats were randomly divided into four groups: normal group (normal saline), madopar group (75mg/kg, L-dopa: Benserazide=4:1), L-dopa group (60mg/kg, L-dopa) and co-administered group (15mg/kg, β-asarone; 60mg/kg, L-dopa). All rats were given by intragastric administration twice a day for 7 days. Then DA, L-dopa, serotonin (5-HT), homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3, 4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), catecholamine oxygen methyl transferase (COMT) and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) in plasma and striatum were determined. Results of co-administered group showed that L-dopa declined in striatum and plasma, however, DA and DOPAC increased in striatum and plasma, HVA was similar in striatum and increased in plasma; 5-HT was similar in striatum and plasma as compared with that of madopar group. In addition, COMT levels decreased in plasma and striatum after co-administration, while MAO-B levels showed no significant difference among the groups. Besides, the co-administration could also increase TH levels in plasma. Altogether, β-asarone has an effect on converting L-dopa into DA by modulating the activity of COMT and DA metabolism. The mechanism of co-administration is different from that of madopar in Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment. So the co-administration of β-asarone and L-dopa may be beneficial to PD treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Dopamine; High performance liquid chromatography; Levodopa; Plasma; Striatum; β-asarone

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24910244

http://www.************/parkinsons.d...ews/140710.pdf

http://www.************/parkinsons.d...ews/140710.htm

In order to increase the effect of L-dopa it is usually administered in combination with a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor. In Sinemet, L-dopa is combined with carbidopa. In Madopar, L-dopa is combined with benserazide. The co-administration of ß-asarone and Levodopa is being developed as a means of improving the effect of L-dopa even further.

ß-asarone is found in the flowering plant acorus and also in asarum, which is known as wild ginger. For more information go to Ansarone

In animal studies the use of L-dopa in combination with ß-asarone was compared to the use of existing methods of treating Parkinson's Disease. Dopamine levels were found to increase in the brain (in the striatum) and in blood plasma in response to ß-asarone. The co-administration of ß-asarone and L-dopa could also increase the levels in blood plasma of tyrosine hydroxylase, which is the enzyme responsible for the formation of L-dopa. Altogether, ß-asarone was found to have an effect on converting L-dopa into dopamine by modulating the activity of dopamine metabolism.

The mechanism of co-administration of ß-asarone and L-dopa is different from that of Sinemet and Madopar in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. The co-administration of ß-asarone and L-dopa may be more beneficial to Parkinson's Disease treatment than the existing methods and so could eventually replace them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asarone

Asarum is a genus of plants in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae, commonly known as wild ginger.

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/...ASARONE_Phrase