Mucuna pruriens and Parkinson’s Disease: A Natural Approach to Treat PD

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease affecting the aged population. The variable loss of dopaminergic neurons within substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of the brain, which controls movement, and the presence of intracellular protein aggregates called Lewy bodies are major pathological findings. The recent years’ research in PD is directed to herbal drug discovery for PD as a large number of patients, particularly in western countries, prefer to use “natural therapies” and drugs instead of pharmaceuticals. Kapikachhu (Mucuna pruriens Linn.) is one of the popular drugs in Ayurveda, the classical system of medicine in India. The seeds of M. pruriens contain 5% L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), and it has emerged as a promising single drug treatment of PD. The present manuscript is an attempt at obtaining complete knowledge regarding Parkinson’s disease as mentioned in Ayurveda for achieving a natural and holistic approach to better management and prevention of disease with herbal drugs, such as M. pruriens. 

Keywords: Ayurveda, Levodopa, Mucuna pruriens, Parkinson's disease.