Health Benefits of Mucuna Pruriens
Mucuna pruriens, a tropical legume also known as velvet bean, has been used by ancient healers and is making waves in the scientific community. Ayurvedic herbal medicine has relied on Mucuna pruriens since 1500 BC to support ailments such as snakebite, intestinal disorders, sexual response, and melancholy mood.
What are the Active Compounds in Mucuna pruriens?
The magic of every therapeutic plant resides in its beneficial, active compounds. The interaction between these compounds is typically responsible for the plant’s favorable effects. In Mucuna pruriens, levodopa, or L-dopa, is one of these compounds . This bioactive chemical is a precursor to several neurotransmitters, including adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine.
Mucuna pruriens has significant antioxidant action that works in tandem with L-dopa topromote brain health. When L-dopa crosses the blood-brain barrier, it helps to increase brain levels of dopamine, an essential neurotransmitter associated with regulating mood and cognition. Research also suggests that antioxidants are helpful for defending against oxidative damage by free radicals.
How Does Mucuna pruriens Influence
Brain Health?
Research suggests Mucuna pruriens protects the brain by keeping cognitive and neural functions in check, even encouraging neural activity. Studies on animals have echoed this, placing the focus on its antioxidant action. The mechanism behind this is simple — all free radicals have an unpaired electron that makes them unstable in the body. Antioxidants donate an electron to the free radical to neutralize its effects, particularly on the brain. Mucuna has an added benefit in that it fights systemic redness in the brain, which is often a factor in brain degradation.
Does Mucuna pruriens Affect the Effects of Stress?
Ayurvedic tradition uses Mucuna pruriens to positively promote mental health and stress response. A study involving 120 men who suffered from psychological stress reported that supplementation with Mucuna significantly eased stress. Oddly enough, the men also had fertility issues and supplementation appeared to promote sperm quality and count. Researchers also concluded that Mucuna pruriens reactivates the antioxidant defense system, an essential biological mechanism necessary for maintaining homeostasis within the body.