title: Anti-Parkinson botanical Mucuna pruriens prevents levodopa induced plasmid and genomic DNA damage.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Scott & White Clinic, Temple, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Binu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tharakan
authors.forename: Muralikrishnan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dhanasekaran
authors.forename: Janna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mize-Berge
authors.forename: Bala V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Manyam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle; D018548:Cotyledon; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000187:drug effects*; D007980:Levodopa / Q000494:pharmacology; D031299:Mucuna; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D007980:Levodopa