Mucuna Pruriens

Last Updated: October 26 2022

Mucuna Pruriens, or Velvet Bean, is a bean that grows from vines and is very itchy to touch due to serotonin and other substances on its surface. It is a good source of L-DOPA, and contains some other molecules that may aid the benefits of L-DOPA.

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Mucuna Pruriens is most often used for

What is Mucuna pruriens?

Mucuna pruriens, commonly known as velvet bean, is a bean that grows from vines in several tropical places, including Asia, Africa, and South America.[1] It has a high L-DOPA content, among various other phytochemicals, and is generally taken as an extract based on L-DOPA dose.[2] L-DOPA is a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, so researchers have evaluated the effects of Mucuna pruriens compared to pharmaceutical L-Dopa and other drugs for this purpose. Other studies have explored Mucuna pruriens’ potential aphrodisiac, antivenom, and antidiabetic effects.[1]

What are Mucuna pruriens’ main benefits?

Preliminary research suggests that dose-matched Mucuna pruriens is roughly equivalent to pharmaceutical L-DOPA for reducing the general symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.[2] It’s possible that Mucuna pruriens has other effects as well, but more research is needed to get an accurate sense of its efficacy.

Mucuna pruriens is also researched in the context of sperm quality for infertile men. Preliminary evidence suggests it to be effective, with improvements in sperm motility and concentration being its best-substantiated effects.[3] The mechanism of action is still unclear, but the evidence so far suggests that it can notably improve the sperm quality of infertile men with a normal sperm count.

Traditionally, Mucuna pruriens has been utilized as an antivenom agent for snakebites.[4] Some studies have specifically examined its efficacy against Echis carinatus venom, commonly referred to as the saw-scaled viper.[5]

In rodent studies, Mucuna pruriens reduced the onset of diabetic cataracts.[6] It may suppress increases in urinary albumin levels associated with diabetes in rodents.[7] However, it fails to prevent the hypertrophy of the kidneys associated with diabetes[7] and does not appear to have significant influence on diabetic neuropathy in rodents.[8]

What are Mucuna pruriens’ main drawbacks?

Mucuna pruriens carries the risk of the side-effects of L-DOPA, which include several gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms. Specifically, one human trial found Mucuna pruriens increased nausea in participants, though the incidence of other adverse events was unclear. There have been reports of acute toxic psychosis associated with the bean form of Mucuna pruriens ingestion in Mozambique.[9] This was thought to be due to women eating raw beans prior to sufficient preparation, and the psychosis may have been the result of a combination of protein deficiency paired with levodopa, bufotenin and other components found in Mucuna pruriens.[9] Like other herbs, it always carries a risk of negative interactions with various medications.

How does Mucuna pruriens work?

It is thought that the anti-Parkinson’s effects of Mucuna pruriens is due to the L-DOPA content in the bean.[1] It improves male fertility by its action on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis.[10] Mucuna pruriens likely exhibits its antivenom effects through an immune mechanism in which glycoproteins present in the bean stimulate antibodies to bind to venom proteins.[11] The antidiabetic effects of Mucuna pruriens requires more research, but current evidence suggests that the presence of a compound called D-chiro-inositol is involved.[12]

What else is Mucuna Pruriens known as?
Note that Mucuna Pruriens is also known as:
  • Velvet Bean
  • Cowitch
  • Werepe
  • Karara
  • Agbara
Mucuna Pruriens should not be confused with:
  • Levodopa (active ingredient)
Dosage information

5g of dried powder has been used with efficacy in some human studies on Parkinson's Disease and fertility. This dose or doses upwards of it should be a good starting point.

If your supplement is standardized for L-DOPA and you are supplementing for an effect attributed to L-DOPA, then start with about 1/2 the L-DOPA equivalent and work up if needed (this is due to the same amount of L-DOPA in Mucuna being more bioactive relative to isolated L-DOPA without carbidopa).

Mucuna Pruriens can be eaten isolated as a food product, but cooking is required to destroy trypsin inhibitors in the beans (so protein absorption is not hindered) yet cooking also destroys L-DOPA.

Some supplements use the cotyledon of Mucuna Pruriens, which may have different nutrient profiles relative to the bean or whole root.

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References
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2.^Katzenschlager R, Evans A, Manson A, Patsalos PN, Ratnaraj N, Watt H, Timmermann L, Van der Giessen R, Lees AJMucuna pruriens in Parkinson's disease: a double blind clinical and pharmacological studyJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry.(2004 Dec)
3.^Mahajan GK, Mahajan AY, Mahajan RTEfficacy of aphrodisiac plants towards improvement in semen quality and motility in infertile males.J Complement Integr Med.(2012-Feb-17)
4.^Guerranti R, Ogueli IG, Bertocci E, Muzzi C, Aguiyi JC, Cianti R, Armini A, Bini L, Leoncini R, Marinello E, Pagani RProteomic analysis of the pathophysiological process involved in the antisnake venom effect of Mucuna pruriens extract.Proteomics.(2008-Jan)
5.^Guerranti R, Aguiyi JC, Ogueli IG, Onorati G, Neri S, Rosati F, Del Buono F, Lampariello R, Pagani R, Marinello EProtection of Mucuna pruriens seeds against Echis carinatus venom is exerted through a multiform glycoprotein whose oligosaccharide chains are functional in this role.Biochem Biophys Res Commun.(2004-Oct-15)
6.^Rathi SS, Grover JK, Vikrant V, Biswas NRPrevention of experimental diabetic cataract by Indian Ayurvedic plant extracts.Phytother Res.(2002-Dec)
9.^Infante ME, Perez AM, Simao MR, Manda F, Baquete EF, Fernandes AM, Cliff JLOutbreak of acute toxic psychosis attributed to Mucuna pruriens.Lancet.(1990-Nov-03)
10.^Shukla KK, Mahdi AA, Ahmad MK, Shankhwar SN, Rajender S, Jaiswar SPMucuna pruriens improves male fertility by its action on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axisFertil Steril.(2009 Dec)
11.^Lampariello LR, Cortelazzo A, Guerranti R, Sticozzi C, Valacchi GThe Magic Velvet Bean of Mucuna pruriens.J Tradit Complement Med.(2012-Oct)
12.^Donati D, Lampariello LR, Pagani R, Guerranti R, Cinci G, Marinello EAntidiabetic oligocyclitols in seeds of Mucuna pruriens.Phytother Res.(2005-Dec)
14.^Vadivel V, Pugalenthi M, Doss A, Parimelazhagan TEvaluation of velvet bean meal as an alternative protein ingredient for poultry feedAnimal.(2011 Jan)
17.^Tomita-Yokotani K, Hashimoto H, Fujii Y, Nakamura T, Yamashita MDistribution of L-DOPA in the root of velvet bean plant (Mucuna pruriens L.) and gravityBiol Sci Space.(2004 Nov)
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23.^Hope-Onyekwere NS, Ogueli GI, Cortelazzo A, Cerutti H, Cito A, Aguiyi JC, Guerranti REffects of Mucuna pruriens Protease Inhibitors on Echis carinatus VenomPhytother Res.(2012 Mar 23)
25.^Donati D, Lampariello LR, Pagani R, Guerranti R, Cinci G, Marinello EAntidiabetic oligocyclitols in seeds of Mucuna pruriensPhytother Res.(2005 Dec)
27.^Kasture S, Pontis S, Pinna A, Schintu N, Spina L, Longoni R, Simola N, Ballero M, Morelli MAssessment of symptomatic and neuroprotective efficacy of Mucuna pruriens seed extract in rodent model of Parkinson's diseaseNeurotox Res.(2009 Feb)
28.^García Echeverría CL, Bressani REffect of different cooking treatments of Mucuna beans on its L-Dopa contentArch Latinoam Nutr.(2006 Jun)
31.^Katzenschlager R, Evans A, Manson A, Patsalos PN, Ratnaraj N, Watt H, Timmermann L, Van der Giessen R, Lees AJMucuna pruriens in Parkinson's disease: a double blind clinical and pharmacological studyJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry.(2004 Dec)
32.^Tharakan B, Dhanasekaran M, Mize-Berge J, Manyam BVAnti-Parkinson botanical Mucuna pruriens prevents levodopa induced plasmid and genomic DNA damagePhytother Res.(2007 Dec)
33.^Dhanasekaran M, Tharakan B, Manyam BVAntiparkinson drug--Mucuna pruriens shows antioxidant and metal chelating activityPhytother Res.(2008 Jan)
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35.^Shukla KK, Mahdi AA, Ahmad MK, Shankhwar SN, Rajender S, Jaiswar SPMucuna pruriens improves male fertility by its action on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axisFertil Steril.(2009 Dec)
38.^Mahajan GK, Mahajan AY, Mahajan RTEfficacy of Aphrodisiac Plants towards Improvement in Semen Quality and Motility in Infertile MalesJ Complement Integr Med.(2012 Feb 17)
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41.^Rathi SS, Grover JK, Vikrant V, Biswas NRPrevention of experimental diabetic cataract by Indian Ayurvedic plant extractsPhytother Res.(2002 Dec)
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50.^Scirè A, Tanfani F, Bertoli E, Furlani E, Nadozie HO, Cerutti H, Cortelazzo A, Bini L, Guerranti RThe belonging of gpMuc, a glycoprotein from Mucuna pruriens seeds, to the Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor family explains its direct anti-snake venom activityPhytomedicine.(2011 Jul 15)
52.^Gupta A, Mahdi AA, Ahmad MK, Shukla KK, Bansal N, Jaiswer SP, Shankhwar SNA proton NMR study of the effect of Mucuna pruriens on seminal plasma metabolites of infertile malesJ Pharm Biomed Anal.(2011 Jul 15)
53.^Shukla KK, Mahdi AA, Ahmad MK, Jaiswar SP, Shankwar SN, Tiwari SCMucuna pruriens Reduces Stress and Improves the Quality of Semen in Infertile MenEvid Based Complement Alternat Med.(2010 Mar)
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61.^Guerranti R, Ogueli IG, Bertocci E, Muzzi C, Aguiyi JC, Cianti R, Armini A, Bini L, Leoncini R, Marinello E, Pagani RProteomic analysis of the pathophysiological process involved in the antisnake venom effect of Mucuna pruriens extractProteomics.(2008 Jan)