Efficacy and safety of Vicia faba L. extract compared with levodopa in management of Parkinson’s disease and an in‐silico phytomedicine analysis

Background: Parkinson’s disease is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system, presently lacks an effective therapy for its complex pathogenesis. Agents containing Levodopa can alleviate its symptoms. Hypothesis Vicia faba L. (Fava bean) extract may prove a useful antiparkinsonian agent similar to Levodopa. Methods: Thirty patients with Parkinson’s disease, entered into this cross over clinical study. In the first step, each participant received V. faba L. extract containing 106.5 mg of Levodopa. After a wash out period of 7 days, the patients entered the second step during which they received conventional treatment with Levodopa-C tablets. Blood Levodopa were measured 4 hours and 8 hours after each administration. The Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale was employed to measure the therapeutic effects in each step. Additionally, a docking analysis was performed to distinguish the chemical constituents of the plant and six key mediators actively involved in Parkinson disease. Results: The fava bean extract significantly alleviate all studied end points except for tremor at rest and freezing. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test showed that there was not a significant difference between rigidity, rising chair, gait and bradykinesia. Docking results of the herb components and standard ligands, indicating that the antiparkinsonian activity of V. faba could presumably be related to many phytochemicals. Conclusion: This study showed a beneficial effect of V. faba L. similar to Levodopa-C. and better compliance due to lower adverse events.