Evaluation of solid-liquid extraction of levodopa from mucuna seeds using different solvents

Abstract

Levodopa is the main drug currently used to treat Parkinson's disease. This amino acid, found in the mucuna seed, is a direct precursor to dopamine, which acts to reduce and control of disease’s symptoms. The commercially available levodopa is produced synthetically, however, due to the relevance of the topic, studies have been carried out to find alternatives for extracting this compound from natural sources, making the process more economical and sustainable with the use of alternative solvents. In this study, the objective was to characterize the seeds of gray mucuna (Mucuna cinerea) and evaluate the solid-liquid extraction yield of levodopa, using different solvents (benzoic acid, succinic acid, choline chloride, ethanol, PEG 4000 and water). To evaluate which solvents and factors most influenced the extraction yield, a factorial design (2³) was carried out. The factors were temperature, extraction time and the ratio between solid and solvent. Composition analysis showed that mucuna is rich in proteins with 26.49% and carbohydrates with 50.63%, has 10.16% minerals, 4.08% lipids and 8.64% moisture. Levodopa was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography, with an aqueous mixture of water and ethanol 50% m/m being the most suitable solvent for extraction, achieving a yield of 14.14%.