The influence of protein containing meals on the pharmacokinetics of levodopa in healthy volunteers.

1. The pharmacokinetics of levodopa and paracetamol after single oral doses have been investigated in eight healthy young volunteers in the fasted state and following isocaloric meals containing either 10.5 g or 30.5 g of protein. 2. The initial peak and maximum plasma drug concentrations and the times at which these occurred were not affected by food. 3. The mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) for paracetamol following an overnight fast did not differ significantly from that observed following the low and high protein meals. 4. By contrast, the AUC for levodopa following the low protein meal (193.9 +/- 15.7 micrograms ml-1 min) was significantly lower compared with administration in the fasted state (216.5 +/- 26.1 micrograms ml-1 min). However, there were no significant differences in the kinetics of levodopa between the fasting state and following the high protein meal. 5. There was no evidence that consumption of a meal containing 30.5 g of protein impaired either the rate or extent of absorption of levodopa. Therefore the reported beneficial effects of a low protein diet in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease probably result from reduced competition for levodopa transport across the blood-brain barrier.