studies have shown Mucuna to be helpful in retarding the progression of Parkinson’s symptoms without any of the incumbent side effects exhibited by the synthetic preparations of levodopa that the major pharmaceutical companies produce. Mucuna, moreover, just so happens to be more cost-effective.

Beyond its known usefulness in treating Parkinson’s disease, Mucuna is also taken as an aphrodisiac as well as an aid in building muscle mass. The increased level of dopamine that it brings about stimulates the pituitary gland to release growth hormone, while inhibiting its production of prolactin. Growth hormone is anabolic in nature and leads to an increased deposition of proteins in the muscles, spurring gains in both mass and strength.

Prolactin, on the other hand, is an inhibitor of testosterone formation. When the prolactin level drops, therefore, more of this all important anabolic sex hormone is produced. Due to the greater amounts of available testosterone, Mucuna helps men gain and sustain erections and improves upon their sperm count and motility, thereby bolstering fertility. In women, it promotes ovulation and proves useful in cases of leukorrhea and menorrhagia. Both sexes are known to experience an improvement in sex drive. Not bad for a little bean that when ground and roasted proves to be so flavorful, it has been turned into a coffee substitute known as Nescafe.‡

...The body uses the naturally-occurring compound L-Dopa to produce an important brain chemical known as dopamine, which is an instrumental factor in determining movement, mood and sexuality.  When the brain lacks enough dopamine, Parkinson’s disease results.  Primarily characterized by a slowness in the initiation and execution of movement, this syndrome is also marked by motor stiffness and easy fatigability as well as mental disturbances including slowed thinking, mild dementia, and depression.  Sexual difficulties are also common.  Dopamine itself isn’t useful in treatment because it’s too large a compound to cross the blood-brain barrier.  Its precursor, L-Dopa, though is small enough to pass through this membranous barrier unimpeded. 

With its high concentration of L-Dopa, Mucuna has been used for generations in India to treat Parkinson's disease.  Commonly found in the tropics of this country where it is eaten as a vegetable, this climbing shrub with its green pods and purple flowers is an established part of their system of medicine known as Ayurveda.  What’s most interesting about the Mucuna bean is that the other substances that it contains may well potentiate the delivery of L-Dopa and make it even more effective than when using it by itself, as researchers have already demonstrated in animal models.  On top of that, clinical case