Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40481059›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Inhibition of levodopa metabolism to dopamine by honokiol short-chain fatty acid derivatives may enhance therapeutic efficacy in Parkinson's disease.

Gang Cheng, Micael Hardy, Jimmy B Feix, Balaraman Kalyanaraman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Lifestyle medicine in Parkinson's disease.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Gang ChengDepartment of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA.
Micael HardyAix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, ICR, UMR 7273, 13013, Marseille, France.
Jimmy B FeixDepartment of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA.
Balaraman KalyanaramanDepartment of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA. balarama@mcw.edu.

Funding

Chemoprevention of Lung Cancer with Mitochondria-Targeted HonokiolR01CA208648 · NCI · METHODIST HOSPITAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI KALYANARAMAN, BALARAMAN, YOU, MING · 2017 to 2021
$3.1M
Modifying the microbiome to enhance L-dopa therapy in Parkinson’s diseaseR21NS137244 · NINDS · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · PI FEIX, JIMMY · 2024 to 2025
$429k
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique International Research Project SuperO2NCI NIH HHS R01CA208648NINDS NIH HHS R21NS137244
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study investigates the antimicrobial properties of honokiol (HNK), a naturally occurring polyphenol, when conjugated with short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate. We examined the effects of HNK-SCFA ester conjugates on Enterococcus faecalis, a gut bacterium that metabolizes levodopa, a drug used to manage Parkinson's disease symptoms. Our findings indicate that HNK-SCFA-esters (e.g., HNK-acetate, HNK-propionate, HNK-butyrate, and HNK-hexanoate) inhibit E. faecalis growth in a dose-dependent manner, followed by a temporary recovery period during which levodopa remains intact and unmetabolized. Notably, HNK-SCFAs exhibit enhanced cellular permeability and are hydrolyzed within bacterial cells, releasing HNK and SCFAs. These results suggest that HNK-SCFAs may reversibly modulate the gut metabolism of levodopa to dopamine, potentially enhancing its therapeutic efficacy in treating Parkinson's disease.

Indexed as

Biphenyl CompoundsDopamineFatty Acids, VolatileLevodopaLignansParkinson DiseaseAllyl CompoundsHumansPhenolsAllyl CompoundsBiphenyl CompoundsDopamineFatty Acids, VolatilehonokiolLevodopaLignansPhenolsDopamineLevodopaMicrobiomeParkinson’s diseasePolyphenolShort-chain fatty acids

Identifiers

PMID40481059
PMCPMC12144245

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.