Enhancing brain function with a simple swallow of a pill is a target vision of the future for some, while for others it raises an ethical dilemma. However, the easy availability of such drugs is now a reality. L-DOPA is one of those agents that work effectively, but one must know its pros and cons to reap only the benefits.
What is L-DOPA?
L-DOPA, which is also known as levodopa, is an intermediate product in the pathway of dopamine synthesis from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. In simple terms, this pathway looks like this:
l-phenylalanine โ L-tyrosine โ L-DOPA โ dopamine โ norepinephrine.
L-DOPA is produced in the body from the above amino acids, but it can also be supplied directly from the outside in the form of a drug or supplement.
L-DOPA in medicine
As an effective dopamine precursor, L-DOPA is used as a treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease, in which dopamine metabolism is impaired. It is a typically symptomatic treatment, as it corrects some of the effects of the disease, but is unable to reverse the course of the disease and eliminate the cause. Nevertheless, patients' conditions are improving, and until more effective and causal treatments are developed, the focus must be on symptomatic measures.
In medication, levodopa is often combined with inhibitors of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase in peripheral tissues, such as carbidopa. With these, the conversion of levodopa to dopamine in the blood is inhibited, as it would then be unable to reach the brain. With this conversion inhibited, more levodopa reaches the brain unchanged and only there is locally converted to dopamine.
L-DOPA in supplementation
Dopamine is something we all love, and by definition. It is, after all, one of those neurotransmitters that are essential for inducing pleasure. The vision of easily increasing it is therefore very tempting, especially since L-DOPA is quite easy to acquire in over-the-counter supplement form. The supplements mainly use natural levodopa from white bean extract (Mucuna Pruriens). The most common dosages range from 100 to 300 mg of L-DOPA in a single serving.
This is the type of supplement for which it is strongly recommended to read the "instruction manual" first. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of supplementing with levodopa, so you can more easily decide whether to use it and do so more prudently.
Advantages
L-DOPA is simply effective. It converts quickly to dopamine and has no bottlenecks along the way, so its effects can be clearly felt. For this reason, it is much more effective than the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine. Among its palpable effects include:
- improved mood;
- a slight increase in energy and boost motivation;
- an increase in sexual desire;
- brightening of thoughts and improved concentration.
The aforementioned effects are possible even when taken on an ad hoc basis. Sometimes L-DOPA is sometimes used short-term in situations of excessive depletion of catecholamine stores in neurons, such as after overuse of stimulants (e.g., powerful pre-workouts).
Disadvantages
L-DOPA in healthy people is not suitable for daily use. Too frequent use could upset the chemical balance in the brain or simply reduce the sensitivity of the dopamine system.
In people who inherently have a predominance or excess of catecholamines, L-DOPA can worsen mood, in part because elevated dopamine will eventually be metabolized to norepinephrine.
There are also several known serious drug interactions. This is especially true for psychiatric and neurological drugs that act as dopamine reuptake inhibitors, MAO inhibitors, or dopamine releasers.
L-DOPA works better with green tea
Not everyone knows this, and it's a great tip! EGCG from green tea inhibits the activity of the enzyme that converts L-DOPA to dopamine in peripheral blood. In this way, it partially mimics the effects of carbidopa, which is used in Parkinson's drugs along with levodopa. In this way, more dopamine is produced directly in the brain and less in the peripheral system, and the action is as expected.
So for a dose of L-DOPA, you can either drink a strong infusion of green tea, or even more effectively: take a capsule of green tea extract standardized for EGCG.
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