I've been looking at dopamine metabolism a bit and wanted to share some of my understanding. I've bolded everything you can get readily as a supplement.
There's a nice diagram over at wikipedia that details the whole process of dopamine metabolism:
http://en.wikipedia....ical_mechanisms
- L-Phenylalanine - Essential amino acid present in many foods such as eggs, cheese, etc.
Gets converted into PEA and Tyrosine. PEA is the body's natural amphetamine that is quickly degraded by MAO-B and ALDH.
- D-Phenylalanine - Synthetic D-isomer form of Phenylalanine
Only gets converted into PEA
- Tyrosine - Found in many foods
Gets converted into L-Dopa via Tyrosine Hydroxylase, the primary rate limiting enzyme in catecholamine metabolism.
Tyrosine Hydroxylase gets upregulated by nicotine and CREB activation (theoretically CILTEP)
- L-Dopa - Intermediate Product, given as a drug to treat Parkinsons. Also in Mucuna Pruriens.
Vitamin B6 as P5P is a cofactor in the conversion of L-Dopa to Dopamine
- Dopamine - Highly psychoactive compound associated largely with motivation
Gets converted to norepinephrine. A cofactor in this conversion is Vitamin C.
Dopamine can also get turned into DOPAL by MAO, which can lead to neurodegenerative consequences if the ALDH enzyme is not functioning. This is more of a problem with leaky dopamine containing vesciles inside of neurons. The diagram on this study is particularly helpful.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/23786406
Determinants of buildup of the toxic dopamine metabolite DOPAL in Parkinson's disease.
AbstractIntra-neuronal metabolism of dopamine (DA) begins with production of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL),which is toxic. According to the 'catecholaldehyde hypothesis', DOPAL destroys nigrostriatal DA terminals and contributes to the profound putamen DA deficiency that characterizes Parkinson’s disease (PD).
...
Elevated DOPAL levels in PD putamen reflect a combination of decreased vesicular uptake of cytosolic DA and decreased DOPALdetoxification by ALDH.
More on methylation and dopamine next post...
Edited by abelard lindsay, 16 May 2015 - 01:23 AM.