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Science 24 July 1970:
Vol. 169. no. 3943, pp. 395 - 397
DOI: 10.1126/science.169.3943.395
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Articles

L-Dihydroxyphenylalanine: Effect on S-Adenosylmethionine in Brain

R. J. Wurtman 1, C. M. Rose 1, S. Matthysse 2, J. Stephenson 2, and R. Baldessarini 2

1 Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139
2 Laboratory of Neuropsychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Forty-five minutes after intraperitoneal injection of a single dose (100 milligrams per kilogram) of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine, the concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in rat brain was lowered by 76 percent. As little as 10 milligrams of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine per kilogram decreased content of S-adenosylmethionine in the adrenal medulla by 51 percent, whereas 100 milligrams per kilogram did not significantly depress concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in the liver in this time interval. Concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in the brain varied diurnally; L-dihydroxyphenylalanine lowered this concentration whether administered at the daily peak or at the nadir.


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)