Aqueous extracts of Mucuna pruriens seeds were tested for their activity on various pharmacological effects like lethality, phospholipase activity, edema forming activity, fibrinolytic activity and haemorrhagic activity of of cobra and krait venoms. The aqueous extract displayed a significant inhibitory effect on the lethality, phospholipase activity, edema forming activity, fibrinolytic activi...

Mucuna pruriens (Fabaceae), also known as cowitch and velvet bean contains very powerful neurotransmitter precursor L-Dopa. The seeds of Mucuna pruriens accumulate 0.2%-2% L-Dopa in their dry weight. L-Dopa is an amino acid that converts into dopamine. Dopamine is an essential component of our body and it requires for the proper functioning of the brain. The seeds powder of Mucuna pruriens has ...

The nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance and in vivo metabolizable energy supply of Mucuna pruriens whole pods fed to growing Pelibuey lambs was investigated. Eight Pelibuey sheep housed in metabolic crates were fed increasing levels of Mucuna pruriens pods: 0 (control), 100 (Mucuna100), 200 (Mucuna200) and 300 (Mucuna300) g/kg dry matter. A quadratic (p<0.002) effect was observed for dry m...

Plants have been used as medicine for the treatment of diseases for thousands of years. These herbal remedies, although natural, can cause some serious damaging effects on the vital organs of the body due to inadequacy in standardization and safety regulations. Mucuna pruriens Linn. belongs to family Fabaceae and is used traditionally in various ailments. The present study reports the acute sys...

Mucuna pruriens is used extensively for its medicinal value for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Nigeria. This study investigated the anti-diabetic activity of Mucuna pruriens on the blood glucose levels and the histopathology of the pancreas. To achieve this, Acute toxicity studies of the plant extract was determined. Doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg bw of the extract were administered ora...

Purpose Mucuna pruriens (mucuna) seeds contain 3-6% LDOPA, and have been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to treat diseases resembling Parkinson’s disease (PD). Pilot studies in PD show that mucuna seed powder has similar effects to conventional levodopa/carbidopa medication. Formulations of mucuna seed are readily available through the internet, and are used by some PD patients as an alt...

INTRODUCTION Protein-energy malnutrition is among the most serious problems tropical developing countries are facing today. This can be attributed mainly to the ever-increasing population as well as to the enhanced dependence on a cereal – based diet, scarcity of fertile land and degradation of natural resources [1,2]. It has been estimated that 800 million malnourished people exist in some of ...

Chronic treatment with levodopa (LD) in Parkinson's disease (PD) can cause drug induced dyskinesias. Mucuna pruriens endocarp powder (MPEP) contains several compounds including natural LD and has been reported to not cause drug-induced dyskinesias. We evaluated the effects of Mucuna pruriens to determine if its underlying mechanistic actions are exclusively due to LD. We first compared MPEP wit...

Mucuna pruriens has been used by native Nigerians as a prophylactic for snakebite. The protective effects of M. pruriens seed extract (MPE) were investigated against the pharmacological actions of N. sputatrix (Javan spitting cobra) venom in rats. The results showed that MPE-pretreatment protected against cardiorespiratory and, to a lesser extent, neuromuscular depressant effects of N. sputatri...

The trypsin inhibitor has been purified to apparent homogeneity from the seeds of Mucuna pruriens employing ammonium sulfate fractionation, cation exchange chromatography on CMcellulose and gel-permeation chromatography on Sephadex G-100. The purified Mucuna pruriens trypsin inhibitor (MPTI) showed a specific inhibitor activity of 474.66, fold purity of 99.51 and the yield obtained was 22.08%. ...