Mucuna - Mucuna pruriens

What is Mucuna?

Mucuna is a climbing shrub belonging to the Fabaceae family, just like beans and other legumes in general.

Identified by the scientific name Mucuna pruriens L., grows spontaneously in the tropical regions of Africa and southern Asia, in particular in India from the slopes of the Himalayas up to Sri-Lanka, and in the Caribbean areas up to South America.

For its important medicinal properties and pressing industrial demands, Mucuna pruriens today it is extensively cultivated for commercial purposes.

Part used and composition

The parts most used for phytotherapeutic purposes are the seeds of Mucuna pruriens, although the leaves have shown interesting antioxidant properties.

The ripe seeds of the mucuna contain the amino acid L-DoPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) in concentrations equal to 3.1-6.1%; there is also the presence of glutathione, lecithins, gallic acid, glycosides, nicotine, serotonin, inhibitors of proteases, sitosterols, and a dark brown viscous oil. The generous presence of the catecholic amino acid L-DoPA has attracted the attention of researchers, intent on the one hand to use the seeds of Mucuna pruriens for the industrial production of L-DoPA, and on the other to study its therapeutic efficacy as a natural alternative to traditional anti-parkinsonian drugs.

L-DoPA is a precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which in the body plays an important role in numerous physiological processes, regulating mood, sexual behavior, drives and movement. For this reason, L-DoPA is used by mainstream medicine in the treatment of dopamine deficiency diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and to a lesser extent depressive states.

Property

Properties of Mucuna

Mucuna Pruriens it is recommended by Ayurvedic texts and traditional medicine to treat erectile dysfunction and poor sexual appetite of a psychogenic nature, the bite of poisonous snakes, diabetes and nervous disorders comparable to the disease now known as Parkinson's disease.

Mucuna pruriens supplements, not being able by law to boast therapeutic properties in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, make commercial use of the role of dopamine in the human organism, attributing to the product

• aphrodisiac properties, useful for increasing libido in case of mild erectile dysfunction of psychogenic origin and poor sexual appetite
• an "enhancing effect of male fertility
• a "stimulating action on fertility and the secretion of growth hormone"

Evidence of effectiveness

The anti-parkinsonian properties of Mucuna Pruriens they have been confirmed by several clinical studies [1-4]. In one of these studies [4], the anti-parkinsonian effect of two single 15 and 30 gram doses of Mucuna Pruriens, standardized in L-DoPA (containing respectively 500 and 1000 mg of L-DoPA, equivalent to 100 and 200 mg of L-DoPA in the presence of a decarboxylase inhibitor), were compared with a dose of 200/50 mg L- DoPA / Carbi-Dopa. The authors conclude that the rapid onset of therapeutic effects, the longer duration of action and the significant reduction in the dyskinesia side effect suggest that Mucuna Pruriens it may even offer superior therapeutic benefits over traditional L-DOPA drugs in the long-term management of Parkinson's disease.

Several studies [3, 8, 9] suggest that the tolerability of Mucuna seed extracts may be better than L-DOPA-based pharmacological preparations, as evidenced by the absence - or in any case by the minor entity - of the common side effect called dyskinesia.

As regards the pharmacological activity of the mucuna on the increase of libido, sexual potency and erectile dysfunction, there are some studies on animal guinea pigs [5-7]. Although these researches have given encouraging results, even in the treatment of diabetes-related erectile dysfunction, considering its intrinsic limitations, to confirm these empirical properties reported by traditional ethnic medicines it is necessary to await the responses of more in-depth clinical studies. In support of these properties, however, we remember how hypersexuality is one of the common side effects of dopaminergic agonists.

Regarding the use of Mucuna Pruriens in the treatment of male infertility we report this study [10] which demonstrated how the treatment improved testosterone, LH, dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline levels in infertile men, reducing FSH and prolactin levels, and also increasing sperm counts and sperm motility The study authors conclude that mucuna regulates steroidogenesis and improves sperm quality in infertile men.

How to use

Recommended doses and method of use

Dry extracts of seeds titrated at 10-50% in L-DoPA with a dosage of 1-2 capsules of 200-400 mg per day are used.

It is important to underline that all these studies have used titrated dry extracts of seeds of Mucuna pruriens in particularly high doses than those commonly recommended by food supplement manufacturers. Reading the studies more carefully, in fact, one discovers the use of these extracts in variable doses based on the titration, but on average equivalent to 1500 mg of L-DoPA per day.

Side effects

Contraindications, toxicity and side effects

Mucuna pruriens it is not recommended in the presence of severe liver disorders, severe heart disease, pregnancy and breastfeeding. Mucuna pruriens it does not appear in the list of medicinal plants allowed in food supplements, released by the Ministry of Health in December 2011; it appears instead in the list of plants not allowed in food supplements updated by the Ministry in July 2009.

Also for this reason, in Italy the important medicinal properties of Mucuna pruriens they are still little known, although they are much more promising and scientifically based than those of other supplements used for similar health and therapeutic purposes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. HP-200 in Parkinson "s Disease Study Group. An alternative medicine treatment for Parkinson" s disease: results of a multicenter clinical trial. J Altern Complement Med 1995; 1: 249–55.
2. Vayda AB, Rajgopalan TS, Mankodi NA, et al. Treatment of Parkinsons disease with the cowhage plant - Mucuna pruriens (Bak). Neurol India 1978; 36: 171-6.
3. Nagashayana N, Sankarankutty P, Nampoothirir MR, et al. Association of L-dopa with recovery following ayurveda medication in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Sci 2000; 176: 124–7.
4. R Katzenschlager, A Evans, A Manson, P N Patsalos, N Ratnaraj, H Watt, L Timmermann, R Van der Giessen, A J Lees. Mucuna pruriens in Parkinson's disease: a double blind clinical and pharmacological study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004; 75: 1672–1677.
5. Amin KMY, Khan MN, Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, et al. "Sexual function improving effect of Mucuna pruriens in sexually normal male rats". Phytotherapy, jrg. 67 (nr. 1): pp. 53-58.
6. Suresh S, Prakash S. Effect of Mucuna pruriens (Linn.) On oxidative stress-induced structural alteration of corpus cavernosum in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. J Sex Med. 2011 Jul; 8: 1943-56. doi: 10.1111 / j.1743-6109.2011.02221.x. Epub 2011 Mar 2.
7. Suresh S, Prithiviraj E, Prakash S. Dose- and time-dependent effects of ethanolic extract of Mucuna pruriens Linn. seed on sexual behavior of normal male rats. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Apr 21; 122: 497-501. Epub 2009 Jan 31.
8. Lieu CA, Kunselman AR, Manyam BV, Venkiteswaran K, Subramanian T. A water extract of Mucuna pruriens provides long-term amelioration of parkinsonism with reduced risk for dyskinesias. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2010 Aug; 16: 458-65. Epub 2010 May 31.
9. Pathan AA, Mohan M, Kasture AS, Kasture SB. Mucuna pruriens attenuates haloperidol-induced orofacial dyskinesia in rats. Nat Prod Res. 2011 Apr; 25: 764-71. Epub 2010 Jul 13.
10. Shukla KK, Mahdi AA, Ahmad MK, Shankhwar SN, Rajender S, Jaiswar SP. Mucuna pruriens improves male fertility by its action on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. Fertil Steril. 2009 Dec; 92: 1934-40. Epub 2008 Oct 29.

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