Field experiments were conducted on-farm in the forest zone of Ghana to determine the effects of stubble mulch (in-situ residues from Mucuna pruriens var utilis or natural grass fallow) and method of land preparation on the yield of dry season tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Land preparation methods studied were slash burn and ridge; ridge and mulching with the existing residue; and zero till...

Mucuna bean (Mucuna pruriens L.) is a legume having high protein content which has the potential as source of bioactive peptides. One peptides an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, thus, mucuna beans might be used antihypertensive compounds. This study aimed to increase functionality proteins from ACE inhibitors using combination fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis followed by mem...

Mucuna pruriens Linn. (velvet bean) has been used by native Nigerians as a prophylactic for snakebite. Rats pretreated with M. pruriens seed extract (MPE) have been shown to protect against the lethal and cardiovascular depressant effects of Naja sputatrix (Javan spitting cobra) venoms, and the protective effect involved immunological neutralization of the venom toxins. To investigate further t...

The potential for mucuna bean protein isolate (MBPI) application as functional ingredient in foods is unknown. In this study nutritional quality and physicochemical properties of MBPI were investigated. Bean samples were processed for L-dopa extraction in distilled water adjusted to pH 3.2 at 60°C for 48hr. MBPI was extracted at pH 9.0 and isoelectrically precipitated at pH 4.5. MBPI from raw a...

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Dm) mutant for PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1B9) gene is a powerful tool to investigate physiopathology of Parkinson's disease (PD). Using PINK1B9 mutant Dm we sought to explore the effects of Mucuna pruriens methanolic extract (Mpe), a L-Dopa-containing herbal remedy of PD. The effects of Mpe on PINK1B9 mutants, supplied with standard diet to larva...

In the present study, we investigated the effects of the aqueous extract of Mucuna pruriens against gentamicin (100 mg kg -1 per day for six days) induced oxidative stress and nephrotoxicity in rats. Administration of gentamicin to rats induced a marked renal failure, characterized by a significant increase in urine volume and serum creatinine and urea levels. There was a significant decr...