ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The precursor of dopamine, levodopa, is an aromatic amino acid, which occurs naturally in a number of leguminous plants. The highest concentration is found in the bean plant mucuna pruriens, which has been used in Ayurvedic medicine since 1500 BC for conditions resembling parkinsonism (1,2). Synthetic levodopa was introduced into Western medicine in the early 1960s, and has since remained the gold standard among antiparkinsonian drugs due to the degree of symptom relief it is capable of providing. Levodopa continues to be the most powerful orally active antiparkinsonian drug with only subcutaneous apomorphine matching its effects on motor function.
