Chemical compound
This article is about
L -DOPA as a biological compound. For its role as a medication and supplement, see
Levodopa .
L-DOPA
Names
IUPAC name
(S )-2-Amino-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid
Other names
l -3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine; Levodopa
Identifiers
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
DrugBank
ECHA InfoCard
100.000.405
EC Number
KEGG
UNII
InChI=1S/C9H11NO4/c10-6(9(13)14)3-5-1-2-7(11)8(12)4-5/h1-2,4,6,11-12H,3,10H2,(H,13,14)/t6-/m0/s1
Key: WTDRDQBEARUVNC-LURJTMIESA-N
C1=CC(=C(C=C1C[C@@H](C(=O)O)N)O)O
Properties
C 9 H 11 N O 4
Molar mass
197.19 g/mol
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their
standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Chemical compound
l -DOPA , also known as l -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and used medically as levodopa , is made and used as part of the normal biology of some plants[ 2] and animals, including humans. Humans, as well as a portion of the other animals that utilize l -DOPA, make it via biosynthesis from the amino acid l -tyrosine .
l -DOPA is the precursor to the neurotransmitters dopamine , norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline), which are collectively known as catecholamines . Furthermore, l -DOPA itself mediates neurotrophic factor release by the brain and CNS.[ 3] [ 4] In some plant families (of the order Caryophyllales ), l -DOPA is the central precursor of a biosynthetic pathway that produces a class of pigments called betalains .[ 5]
l -DOPA can be manufactured and in its pure form is sold as a drug with the INN Tooltip International Nonproprietary Name levodopa . Trade names include Sinemet, Pharmacopa, Atamet, and Stalevo. As a drug, it is used in the clinical treatment of Parkinson's disease and dopamine-responsive dystonia .
l -DOPA has a counterpart with opposite chirality , d -DOPA . As is true for many molecules, the human body produces only one of these isomers (the l -DOPA form). The enantiomeric purity of l -DOPA may be analyzed by determination of the optical rotation or by chiral thin-layer chromatography .[ 6]
^ Howard ST, Hursthouse MB, Lehmann CW, Poyner EA (1995). "Experimental and theoretical determination of electronic properties in Ldopa". Acta Crystallogr. B . 51 (3): 328– 337. Bibcode :1995AcCrB..51..328H . doi :10.1107/S0108768194011407 . S2CID 96802274 .
^ Cohen PA, Avula B, Katragunta K, Khan I (October 2022). "Levodopa Content of Mucuna pruriens Supplements in the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database" . JAMA Neurology . 79 (10): 1085– 1086. doi :10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.2184 . PMC 9361182 . PMID 35939305 .
^ Lopez VM, Decatur CL, Stamer WD, Lynch RM, McKay BS (September 2008). "L-DOPA is an endogenous ligand for OA1" . PLOS Biology . 6 (9): e236. doi :10.1371/journal.pbio.0060236 . PMC 2553842 . PMID 18828673 .
^ Hiroshima Y, Miyamoto H, Nakamura F, Masukawa D, Yamamoto T, Muraoka H, et al. (January 2014). "The protein Ocular albinism 1 is the orphan GPCR GPR143 and mediates depressor and bradycardic responses to DOPA in the nucleus tractus solitarii" . British Journal of Pharmacology . 171 (2): 403– 14. doi :10.1111/bph.12459 . PMC 3904260 . PMID 24117106 .
^ Polturak G, Breitel D, Grossman N, Sarrion-Perdigones A, Weithorn E, Pliner M, et al. (2016). "Elucidation of the first committed step in betalain biosynthesis enables the heterologous engineering of betalain pigments in plants" . New Phytol . 210 (1): 269– 283. doi :10.1111/nph.13796 . PMID 26683006 .
^ Martens J, Günther K, Schickedanz M (1986). "Resolution of Optical Isomers by Thin-Layer Chromatography: Enantiomeric Purity of Methyldopa". Arch. Pharm. 319 (6): 572– 574. doi :10.1002/ardp.19863190618 . S2CID 97903386 .