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Mucuna Pruriens

Specific Recommendations:

• Mucuna pruriens at Amazon.com

Related Topics:

• l-dopa / Parkinson's Disease / depression

News & Research:

• Mucuna pruriens Seed May Be Helpful in Long-term Management of Parkinson's - Medscape, 11/30/04 - "The rapid onset of action and longer on time without concomitant increase in dyskinesias on mucuna seed powder formulation suggest that this natural source of L-dopa might possess advantages over conventional L-dopa preparations in the long term management of PD"

Abstracts:

• A Heat-Stable Extract From Mucuna Stimulates the Differentiation of Bone Marrow Cells Into Dendritic Cells and Induces Apoptosis in Cancer Cells - Nutr Cancer. 2010 Dec 16:1 - "Pine cone extract is known to induce differentiation of human mononuclear cells into dendritic cells (DCs) and also to induce apoptosis in human cancer cells. In the present study, we screened edible plants that contain components with biological activities similar to or more potent than those of pine cone extract. We found that Mucuna (Mucuna pruviens var. utilis) contains a DC differentiation/maturation-inducing activity and a component that induces apoptosis in human cancer cell lines. Mucuna extract specifically stimulated differentiation of BM cells to immature DCs. Marked production of IL-6 was observed by sequential treatment with at least 10 μg/mL of Mucuna extract followed by LPS. The sequential treatment with Mucuna extract followed by LPS produced a much higher ratio of IL-12 to IL-6 and a lower ratio of TNF-α to IL-6 than that obtained by sequential treatment with a medicinal mushroom Phellinus linteus extract and then LPS. The DC differentiation/maturation activity and the component inducing apoptosis in cancer cells were separable by column chromatography" - See Mucuna pruriens at Amazon.com.
  • Dendritic cell - Wikipedia - "Dendritic cells (DCs) are immune cells that form part of the mammalian immune system. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the surface to other cells of the immune system, thus functioning as antigen-presenting cells. They act as messengers between the innate and adaptive immunity"