Parkinson\'s disease (PD) is a progressive and disabling neurodegenerative disease that rapidly worsens and results in premature mortality if left untreated. Although levodopa is the gold standard treatment for PD globally, its accessibility and affordability are severely limited in low- and middle-income countries worldwide. In this scenario, Mucuna pruriens (MP), a leguminous plant growing wild in tropical regions, emerges as a potential alternative or adjunct to levodopa-based medications due to its cost-effectiveness and global natural availability. Recent studies have demonstrated that MP can significantly ameliorate motor symptoms, although tolerability may vary. The proposition that MP could play a pivotal role in providing affordable and symptomatic relief for PD in low- and middle-income countries is grounded in its promising therapeutic profile, yet caution is warranted until more comprehensive data on the long-term safety and efficacy of MP become available. This manuscript summarizes the knowledge gained about MP by the authors, focusing on how to cultivate, store, and provide it to patients in the safest and most effective way in clinical trials. We aim to increase clinical trials investigating its safety and efficacy in PD, before promoting individual use of MP on a global scale, particularly in countries where availability and affordability of levodopa-based medications is still limited.

Objective Mucuna pruriens (MP) is a legume whose seeds contain levodopa (LD), which has potential therapeutic effects against Parkinson\'s disease (PD). However, further research is needed to thoroughly evaluate its efficacy and safety for treating this condition. In this study, we analyzed the pharmacokinetics of MP grown in Japan and investigated its mechanism of action in PD. Methods MP seeds ground after roasting (containing 4.02% LD per MP powder) were used as the reagent and compared with an equivalent LD/carbidopa (CD) preparation. This clinical trial was conducted using a crossover design among PD patients attending our institution. Each patient received a single dose of 100/10 mg LD/CD tablets and 11 g of MP reagent. Results Among the seven patients with PD, MP prolonged the ON time 2-fold compared to LD/CD. The LD concentrations after MP intake were higher than those after LD/CD intake, whereas dyskinesia did not increase. An analysis of the LD metabolites showed that the 3-O-methyl-dopa/LD metabolic ratio was significantly lower after MP ingestion than after LD/CD ingestion, indicating that MP has a catechol-O-methyl transferase inhibitory effect. Conclusions This is the first report of a pharmacokinetic analysis conducted on actual patients with PD showing that MP significantly prolongs the ON time. The advantages of MP as a treatment for PD have been confirmed: it is inexpensive, as effective as LD, works faster and longer than LD, and does not increase dyskinesia.

Mucuna pruriens (MP) is leguminous plant which contains 5% of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (levodopa) in its seeds. It may have a potential to be used as an alternative therapy for Parkinson\'s disease (PD). Meanwhile, there is a concern in terms of public health that MP products can be overused by patients with PD. As an entry for patients with PD to acquire MP products in Japan, they are often purchased via internet auctions or free markets. MP products are not reagrded as \'pharmatheutical\' by Japanese law as long as the specific legal requirements on advertisements are met, so that the MP products can be advertised or sold without any permission from the authorities. In this study, we aimed to conduct internet survey as to the complianse status of these legal requirements. Several major internet auction or free market websites in Japan were surveyed in May-June 2023 by the authors, and 1157 MP product pages were examined. We found approximately 30-40% of the MP products were suspected to have potential legal risks in terms of their advertisements in their website descriptions, such as claiming pharmatheutical efficacy or describing pharmatheutical-like dosages. In addition, approximately 30-40% of the MP products also did not refer to cautions not to take MP products excessively because of the levodopa ingredients. Current study suggested the need of careful description of the MP products in the auction or free market websites for the MP products exhibitors or sellers, in order to fullfill legal requirements as well as to prevent MP abuse.

Mucuna pruriens seed being an underutilized legume with antinutrients was processed to reduce antinutrients and improve nutritional quality. The seeds were cleaned, washed and subjected to single treatments of soaking (24 h, 48 h, 72 h), cooking (20 min, 40 min, 60 min, 80 min), roasting (10 min, 15 min, 20 min), germination (24 h, 48 h, 72 h) and fermentation (24 h, 48 h, 72 h). Combined treatments: soaking (72 h) + cooking (60 min); germination (48 h) + roasting (15 min); germination (48 h) + cooking (60 min); fermentation (72 h) + roasting (15 min) were also separately carried out. Proximate composition and antinutrients were evaluated. Crude protein ranged from 25.34 to 29.50%, ash 3.02-3.82% and crude fibre 0.70-4.69. Crude protein was increased by single and double treatments while ash content was increased by only single treatments. All the treatments reduced the crude fibre. For single and double treatments, phenol, L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and trypsin inhibitor were in the range of 0.69-3.49%, 0.01-6.83% and 0.00-12.58 TIU/mg protein respectively. This research indicated that the use of up to 72 h soaking, 80 min cooking, 20 min roasting, 72 h germination or 72 h fermentation (Rhizopus oligosporus) is not adequate to reduce phenol and L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine in Mucuna pruriens seed flour to below the recommended safe limits of 0.003% and 0.1% respectively. The double treatment of 72 h fermentation +15 m roasting was the only treatment that reduced L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine to safe limit of 0.01%.

There is growing interest in the use of natural products for the treatment of Parkinson\'s disease (PD). Mucuna pruriens has been used in the treatment of humans with PD. The goal of this study was to determine if daily oral treatment with an extract of Mucuna pruriens, starting after the MPTP-induced loss of nigrostriatal dopamine in male mice, would result in recovery/restoration of motor function, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) protein expression in the nigrostriatal pathway, or glutamate biomarkers in both the striatum and motor cortex. Following MPTP administration, resulting in an 80 % loss of striatal TH, treatment with Mucuna pruriens failed to rescue either striatal TH or the dopamine transporter back to the control levels, but there was restoration of gait/motor function. There was an MPTP-induced loss of TH-labeled neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and in the number of striatal dendritic spines, both of which failed to be recovered following treatment with Mucuna pruriens. This Mucuna pruriens-induced locomotor recovery following MPTP was associated with restoration of two striatal glutamate transporter proteins, GLAST (EAAT1) and EAAC1 (EAAT3), and the vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2) within the motor cortex. Post-MPTP treatment with Mucuna pruriens, results in locomotor improvement that is associated with recovery of striatal and motor cortex glutamate transporters but is independent of nigrostriatal TH restoration.

Mucuna pruriens (MP) which is commonly known as \"Velvet Bean\" is an underutilized legume traditionally used to treat Parkinson\'s disease and male fertility issues. Extracts of MP have also been identified for their antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antineoplastic effects. Commonly, the antioxidant and anticancer properties of a drug are linked together as antioxidants scavenge free radicals and prevent the cellular DNA damage which could result in cancer development. In this investigation, comparative assessment of the anticancer and antioxidant potentials of methanolic seed extracts from two common varieties of MP, Mucuna pruriens var. pruriens (MPP) and Mucuna pruriens var. utilis (MPU) against human colorectal cancer adenocarcinoma cells COLO-205, was carried out. The highest antioxidant potential was recorded with MPP with an IC50 of 45.71 μg/ml. The in vitro antiproliferative effects of MPP and MPU on COLO-205 showed an IC50 of 131.1 μg/ml and 246.9 μg/ml respectively. Our results revealed intervention of the MPP and MPU extracts in growth kinetics of the COLO-205 cells in concomitance with apoptosis induction up to 8.73- and 5.58-folds respectively. The AO/EtBr dual staining and the flow cytometry results also confirmed the better apoptotic efficacy of MPP over MPU. MPP at a concentration of 160 μg/ml exhibited highest apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, effect of the seed extracts on p53 expression was investigated by quantitative RT-PCR and a maximum upregulation of 1.12-fold was recorded with MPP.

Mucuna pruriens Linn. (M. pruriens), a leguminous plant, was used extensively in Ayurveda, to treat male-related infertility. Previous studies have demonstrated antioxidant, androgenic, aphrodisiac, and spermatogenic properties of M. pruriens seed extract. Surprisingly, the biological activities of M. pruriens on aging-induced pathological changes in the testis microenvironment have never been explored and the present study was focused on the testing therapeutic efficacy of M. pruriens on aged rat testis. Male Wistar albino rats were grouped as; adult (3 months), aged (24 months), aged + M. pruriens and adult + M. pruriens (N = 6/group). The extract was administrated at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight (dosage determined in our previous study) daily by gavage for 60 days. The total and free testosterone, FSH and LH levels were considerably increased in aged + M. pruriens. The diameter & volume of the seminiferous tubules, the height & volume of the epithelium, and the number of Leydig cells number were significantly decreased in aged rat testis, concomitantly connective tissue proportion was increased compared to adult rats. The seminiferous epithelium indicates significant rejuvenation or restoration of spermatogenic cells in aged + M. pruriens rat testis. The highlighting observations in aged + M. pruriens was increased in the following parameters i.e., tubular diameter (25%), number of tubules (35%), epithelial height (25%) & volume (20%), and number of Leydig cells (35%) when compared to untreated aged rat testis. The TNFα, NF-κB, cytochrome c, Caspase-9, Caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bax, PARP iNOS, and inflammatory and apoptotic factors were downregulated in aged + M. pruriens. M. pruriens was able to restore spermatogenesis and enhance the activity of Sertoli cells and Leydig cells and improve the pituitary-gonadal axis in aged rat testis and observations indicate the therapeutic activity of M. pruriens in aged rat testis.

Present study aimed to assess effect of pre-treatment with Mucuna pruriens seed extract and its bioactive molecule(s) on NMDAR and Tau protein gene expression in cerebral ischemic rodent model. Methanol extract of M. pruriens seeds was characterized by HPLC, and β-sitosterol was isolated by flash chromatography. In vivo studies to observe the effect of pre-treatment (28 days) with methanol extract of M. pruriens seed and β-sitosterol on the unilateral cerebral ischemic rat model. Cerebral ischemia induced by left common carotid artery occlusion (LCCAO) for 75 min (on day 29) followed by reperfusion for 12 h. Rats (n = 48) divided into four groups. GroupI (control,Untreated + LCCAO)-No pre-treatment + cerebral ischemia; GroupII(β-sitosterol + Sham)-pre-treatment with β-sitosterol, 10 mg/kg/day + sham-operated; GroupIII(β-sitosterol + LCCAO)-pre-treatment with β-sitosterol, 10 mg/kg/day + cerebral ischemia; GroupIV(methanol extract + LCCAO)-pre-treatment with methanol extract of M. pruriens seeds, 50 mg/kg/day + cerebral ischemia. Neurological deficit score was assessed just before sacrifice. Experimental animals were sacrificed after 12 h reperfusion. Brain histopathology was performed. Gene expression of NMDAR and Tau protein of left cerebral hemisphere (occluded side) was performed by RT-PCR. Results revealed that the neurological deficit score was lower in groups III and IV compared to group I. NMDAR and tau protein mRNA expression in left cerebral hemisphere were upregulated in Group I, downregulated in groups III and IV. Histopathology of left cerebral hemisphere (occluded side) in Group I showed features of ischemic brain damage. Groups III and IV, left cerebral hemisphere showed less ischemic damage compared GroupI. Right cerebral hemisphere showed no areas of ischemia-induced brain changes. Pre-treatment with β-sitosterol and methanol extract of M. pruriens seeds may reduce ischemic brain injury following unilateral common carotid artery occlusion in rats.

UNASSIGNED: A significant cause of arsenic poisoning is polluted groundwater. Arsenic poisoning results in the suppression of spermatogenesis and the liver and kidneys are vulnerable to the toxic effects as well. Mucuna pruriens has been identified to have fertility-enhancing and anti-lipid peroxidation properties. Based on these properties of M. pruriens, this study aimed to investigate the efficacy of M. pruriens seed extract in reducing sodium arsenite-induced testicular impairment and hepato-renal histopathology in rats.
UNASSIGNED: The study was divided into two groups; short-term (45 days) and long-term (90 days) treatment groups and each group was divided into nine subgroups. Subgroups 1 and 2 served as normal and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) controls, respectively. Subgroups 3-9 received sodium arsenite in the drinking water (50 mg/L). Subgroup-4 received NAC (210 mg/kg body weight [BW]) orally once daily. Subgroups 5-7 received aqueous seed extract of M. pruriens (350, 530, and 700 mg/kg BW, respectively) orally once daily. Subgroups 8 and 9 received a combination of NAC and aqueous seed extract (350 and 530 mg/kg BW, respectively) orally once daily. Following the treatment, animals were sacrificed and sperm parameters and DNA damage were evaluated. Testis, liver, and kidneys were analyzed for histopathology.
UNASSIGNED: Sodium arsenite-induced a significant reduction in sperm parameters and increase in the abnormal architecture of spermatozoa. Histology revealed tissue necrosis. The M. pruriens seed extract ameliorated the damaging effects of sodium arsenite with respect to tissue architecture and sperm parameters when coadministered.
UNASSIGNED: Mucuna pruriens has beneficial effects against the deleterious effects of sodium arsenite on various tissues. Thus, M. pruriens (530 and 700 mg/kg BW) supplementation would reduce the adverse changes observed with sodium arsenite exposure.

In this study, Mucuna pruriens extracts were used to verify their application as a natural-based raw material with anti-inflammatory function. A nitric oxide inhibition activity assay showed that M. pruriens extracted with hot water (MW), M. pruriens extracted with 70% ethanol (ME), and M. pruriens extracted with 70% acetone (MA) presented NO inhibition activity; among them, MW and ME demonstrated the best activity and were selected for Western blot analysis. After identifying the expression patterns of inflammation-related proteins, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cell (NF-κB), through Western blots, both MW and ME showed inhibition patterns. As a result of analyzing L-DOPA contained in M. pruriens through ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), high L-DOPA content was detected in MW, ME, and MA. Therefore, it can be concluded that M. pruriens extracts have the potential for use as an anti-inflammatory material.