levodopa

A substance used as a therapy for parkinson’s disease; the L form of Dopa; L-dihydroxyphenylalanine; L-hydroxytyrosine (C9H11NO4); also called L-dopa. In the body it is converted by the enzyme dopa-decarboxylase into dopamine, the form in which it is active in the brain, affecting neural impulse transmission.

A naturally-occurring amino acid found in food, converted into dopamine in the brain and body, and administered clinically in the management of Parkinson’s disease and dopa-responsive dystonia.

the levorotatory form of dopa (trade names Bendopa and Brocadopa and Larodopa); as a drug it is used to treat Parkinson’s disease