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Agro-Technology of Important Medicinal Plants
Published in Namrita Lall, Medicinal Plants for Cosmetics, Health and Diseases, 2022
Nikita Patel, Swetal Patel, Abdullahi A. AbdulRahaman, Ramar Krishnamurthy
Velvet bean is commonly known as cowhage and atmagupta/kewach in Hindi. It is an annual and tropical climber belonging to the family Leguminosae. It is reported to be found throughout tropical conditions of Indian regions and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The pods (Figure 25.1G) of this plant bear trichomes/hairs (on the outer surface of pods), which causes itching upon contact. The seeds of Mucuna pruriens have shown considerable variation in their morphology and chemical composition including 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-Dopa) at 2–6%, and yield associated characteristics (Krishnamurthy et al., 2002, 2003b, 2005b). Different parts of Mucuna pruriens are used in traditional and modern medicine. They possess critical bioactive compounds which are used in the treatment of bone fractures, snake bites, cough, syphilis and wounds. Apart from critical bioactive compounds, Mucuna pruriens possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-Parkinson and aphrodisiac properties (Divya et al., 2017). Collections of Mucuna pruriens assembled from different regions of India showed that there is a direct correlation between seed yield and other seed characteristics (Krishnamurthy et al., 2005b).
Threat to classical reputation by dubious herbs and substitutes
Published in C. P. Khare, Evidence-based Ayurveda, 2019
Or Ashwagandha of the classical period was a related species of Mucuna. M. cochinchinensis Cheval and M. nigricans Stend syn. M. imbricata DC. belonged to Bihar and Bengal. Not only the seeds but also the roots of Mucuna prurita are used in Indian medicine.7,8 During the classical period, the root of some species or subspecies of Mucuna were used as an aphrodisiac. Dalhan (twelfth century) identified Kaakaanda as Ashwaka. Vagbhat was of the opinion that Kaakaanda and Kapikachhu, syn. Aatmagupta belonged to the same (Mucuna) family, and both were used as an aphrodisiac. P. V. Sharma opined that Kaakaanda (Ashwaka) should be equated with Mucuna monosperma DC.
Biodiversity Bioprospection with Respect to Medicinal Plants
Published in Jayanta Kumar Patra, Gitishree Das, Sanjeet Kumar, Hrudayanath Thatoi, Ethnopharmacology and Biodiversity of Medicinal Plants, 2019
Abhishek Kumar Dwivedy, Vipin Kumar Singh, Somenath Das, Anand Kumar Chaudhari, Neha Upadhyay, Akanksha Singh, Archana Singh, Nawal Kishore Dubey
These compounds obtained from different parts of the plants like seeds of Mucuna pruriens are an important source of L-dopa which helps in the treatment of most important neuro-degenerative Parkinson’s disease. Similarly, the bark of a yew tree (Taxus brevifolia), leaf of Catharanthus roseus and stem/bark of Camptotheca acuminata bears important photochemical compound having antitumor potential. Furthermore, some plants like Galanthus woronowii and Gingko biloba bear compound having anticholinesterase activity and helps in the treatment of the so called neuro-degenerative disorder, Alzheimer’s disease.
Processing Effect on L-DOPA, In Vitro Protein and Starch Digestibility, Proximate Composition, and Biological Activities of Promising Legume: Mucuna macrocarpa
Published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2019
Chetan Aware, Ravishankar Patil, Govind Vyavahare, Ranjit Gurav, Vishwas Bapat, Jyoti Jadhav
Mucuna is a genus belonging to family Leguminosae and commonly found throughout the tropical region of the world (7), and is used for the management of Parkinson’s disease (PD) as it contains L-DOPA (8). In most of the developing countries, species of Mucuna are being cultivated as a cover crop for food, for feed purpose, and to increase soil fertility (7). Most of the species of Mucuna are still underutilized, as they contain antinutritional factors that limit their consumption (9). Mucuna macrocarpa is an underutilized legume species of Mucuna widely available in the northeastern region of India. This investigation was planned to evaluate the impact of different pretreatments such as boiling, roasting, soaking, autoclaving, and ca ombination of these processes on the level of L-DOPA content, nutritional and antinutritional factors, phenolics, flavonoids, and in vitro protein and starch digestibility with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of MM seeds.
Ultrasound-Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Phenolic, Flavonoid Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Mucuna macrocarpa Beans: Response Surface Methodology Optimization
Published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2019
Chetan B. Aware, Ravishankar R. Patil, Govind D. Vyavahare, Swati T. Gurme, Jyoti P. Jadhav
The genus Mucuna belongs to family Leguminosae and comprises 100 species around the world (12). In the Indian Ayurvedic system, Mucuna species are being used for the treatment of chronic neurological disorder, constipation, edema, fever, menstruation disorder, ulcers, and urinary-tract-related impairments (13, 14). Species of Mucuna, especially M. pruriens, are well known and are widely utilized for the management of Parkinson’s disease (PD), as this contains the nonprotein amino acid L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) (15). L-DOPA is the precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) and is used as a potent drug for the treatment of PD. In vivo prolonged administration of L-DOPA can be detrimental as it generates free radicals in the oxidative metabolism of dopamine (16). In this sense, the use of natural counteractive molecules in combination with L-DOPA may reduce the adverse effect of free radicals. Along with L-DOPA, several neglected and wild species of Mucuna can be explored as a prominent source of antioxidants for the management of PD.
Practical pearls to improve the efficacy and tolerability of levodopa in Parkinson’s disease
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2022
Abhishek Lenka, Gianluca Di Maria, Guillaume Lamotte, Laxman Bahroo, Joseph Jankovic
Levodopa (or L-dopa) is the natural isomer of the amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. Although it is usually prescribed as a medication approved by regulatory authorities, some patients, particularly in developing countries, use the natural product Mucuna Pruriens (MP) as a dietary supplement [21,22]. In a 16-week pilot study on 14 PD patients, daily intake of MP improved the motor symptoms; however, the tolerability was poor due to gastrointestinal side effects [21]. Therefore, due to the lack of long-term data on safety and efficacy, the use MP is not recommended if standard levodopa preparations are readily available [21,22]. As dopamine does not cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), it is not pharmacologically feasible to use it as an oral medication to replace brain dopamine for PD treatment. Levodopa overcomes this limitation as it readily crosses the BBB and is converted into dopamine in the central nervous system (CNS) by a pyridoxine-dependent enzyme aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase or dopa decarboxylase. Dopa decarboxylase is ubiquitous; in addition to the brain, it has a high activity also in the stomach, intestinal wall, kidney, and liver which facilitates peripheral decarboxylation of levodopa to dopamine [23]. Peripheral decarboxylation of levodopa is potentially problematic as it predisposes the patients to the peripheral side effects of dopamine (e.g. nausea, vomiting, anorexia). Therefore, levodopa is typically co-administered with carbidopa or benserazide (dopa decarboxylase inhibitors), which prevent the conversion of levodopa to dopamine in the periphery, thus minimizing the risk of adverse effects, particularly nausea. When administered without decarboxylase inhibitors, about 80% of the dose is decarboxylated in the stomach [24]. When levodopa is co-administered with a decarboxylase inhibitor, the most important metabolite is 3-O-methyldopa which is produced by the action of the enzyme catechol-o-methyl transferase (COMT). The role of 3-O-methyldopa may become clinically relevant as this metabolite with a relatively long half-life (approximately 12 h) competes with the entry of levodopa (half-life 90–120 minutes) across the BBB [24,25]. By inhibiting the catabolism of levodopa, the COMT inhibitors such as entacapone and opicapone play an important role in PD therapeutics by prolonging the effects of levodopa [26,27]. Levodopa is converted to dopamine in the brain by dopa decarboxylase. In the brain, dopamine is transformed into 3-methoxy tyramine by COMT in extracellular space, whereas intracellularly it is transformed by monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) into dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) [24] (Figure 1). Treatment with MAO-B inhibitors such as selegiline, rasagiline, and safinamide, thus, is advantageous as these drugs offer mild improvement in parkinsonian symptoms and motor fluctuations [28]. The role of MAO-B inhibitors as neuroprotective agents has remained controversial, and we no longer recommend it routinely as initial medication in newly diagnosed PD.