Piperine and L-dopa producing probiotic

[Rufous2]

I recently ran across a couple of things about gut bacteria that I thought were interesting. The first involves the use of piperine (an extract of black pepper) to keep l-dopa from being converted to dopamine by bacteria in the small intestine, leaving more to travel to the brain;

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

"Tyrosine decarboxylase (TDC) presented in the gut-associated strain Enterococcus faecalis can convert levodopa (L-dopa) into dopamine (DA), and its increased abundance would potentially minimize the availability and efficacy of L-dopa. However, the known human decarboxylase inhibitors are ineffective in this bacteria-mediated conversion. This study aims to investigate the inhibition of piperine (PIP) on L-dopa bacterial metabolism and evaluates the synergistic effect of PIP combined with L-dopa on Parkinson's disease (PD)."

"We found that PIP combined with L-dopa could better ameliorate the move disorders of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats by remarkably improving L-dopa availability and brain DA level than L-dopa alone, which was associated with the effect of PIP on suppressing the bacterial decarboxylation of L-dopa via effectively downregulating the abnormal high abundances of E. faecalis and TDC in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats."

The second story involves gut bacteria as well, but this time as a possibly promising treatment; researchers apparently engineered a probiotic bacteria that can synthesize L-dopa. Testing in animals showed that it can achieve consistent L-DOPA levels in blood plasma and steady brain dopamine levels without any unwanted fluctuation. When a paper on the subject was presented in 2022, the authors said they were seeking FDA approval for clinical trials. eurekalert.org/news-release...

[Muay]

Thank you for sharing. The second paper regarding using genetic engineered bacteria to synthesize l dopa is particularly interesting.

[ZebraDoodle]

Anyone have any suggestions how to calculate a potential dose of black pepper needed to see any potential effect?

[Rufous2 in reply to ZebraDoodle]

Piperine (in the form of BioPerine) is used to enhance the absorption of supplements, most notably curcumin, and is available OTC; iherb.com/pr/source-natural...

I would caution though, that it could potentially enhance the absorption not only of L-dopa, but of other meds as well, which may or may not be a good thing.

[Trig27 in reply to Rufous2]

it opens the tight junctions in your gut. could be a lot of unintended consequences.

[RBan]

is this similar or the same? Using bugs as drugs in Australia.

abc.net.au/news/2024-05-28/...

[Rufous2 in reply to RBan]

From the link you provided....."In what he termed a "bugs as drugs" approach, he said the team would also engineer bacteria and test their potential to slow or stop Parkinson's progression by altering the gut ecosystem."

This is an even more ambitious goal for engineering bacteria; to actually influence the course of the disease as opposed to just treating it symptomatically. Until that kind of "cure" is available though, a lot of people could benefit from the steady supply of L-dopa that the previously mentioned engineered bacteria can supply. Hopefully clinical trials are in the works!

[JayPwP]

More links between gut and brain