''Mucuna'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of around 110 accepted

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of vines and shrubs of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

: tribe

Phaseoleae The plant tribe (biology), tribe Phaseoleae is one of the subdivisions of the legume subfamily Faboideae, in the unranked Non-protein amino acid-accumulating clade, NPAAA clade. This group includes many of the beans cultivated for human and anima ...

, typically found in tropical and subtropical forests in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. The leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, or spiraled, and the flowers are pea-like but larger, with distinctive curved petals, and occurring in

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s. Like other legumes, ''Mucuna'' plants bear pods. They are generally bat-pollinated and produce seeds that are buoyant sea-beans. These have a characteristic three-layered appearance, appearing like the eyes of a large mammal in some species and like a hamburger in others (most notably '' M. sloanei'') and giving rise to common names like deer-eye beans, donkey-eye beans, ox-eye beans, or hamburger seed. The name of the genus is derived from ''mucunã'', a Tupi–Guarani word for these species.

Ecology

Some ''Mucuna'' species are used as food plants by caterpillars of

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

. These include ''

Morpho Morpho may refer to: * ''Morpho'' (genus), a genus of butterflies * Morpho (VTOL), a Swiss prototype drone * Morpho (company) IDEMIA (formerly known as OT-Morpho) is a French multinational technology company headquartered in Courbevoie, Fra ...

'' butterflies and the two-barred flasher (''

Astraptes fulgerator ''Telegonus fulgerator'', the two-barred flasher, is a species of spread-wing skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae which may constitute a possible cryptic species complex. It ranges all over the Americas, from the southern United States ...

''), which is sometimes found on '' M. holtonii'' and perhaps others. The

plant pathogen Plant diseases are diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like orga ...

ic fungus ''

Mycosphaerella mucunae ''Mycosphaerella'' is a genus of ascomycota. With more than 10,000 species, it is the largest genus of phytopathology, plant pathogen fungi. The following introduction about the fungal genus ''Mycosphaerella'' is copied (with permission) from t ...

'' is named for being first discovered on ''Mucuna''.

Uses

The pods of some species are covered in coarse hairs that contain the

proteolytic enzyme A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the formation of new protein products. They do t ...

mucunain The proteolytic enzyme mucunain is a protein in the tissues of certain legumes of the genus ''Mucuna'', especially velvet bean (''Mucuna pruriens''). In these species the mucunain is found in stiff hairs, or trichomes, covering the seed In b ...

and cause itchy blisters when they come in contact with skin;

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

s such as ''pruriens'' (Latin: "itching") or ''urens'' (Latinized Ancient Greek: "stinging like a nettle") refer to this. Other parts of the plant have medicinal properties. The plants or their extracts are sold in

herbalism Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

against a range of conditions, such as

urinary tract The human urinary system, also known as the urinary tract or renal system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra. The purpose of the urinary system is to eliminate waste from the body, regulate blood volume and blood pressu ...

neurological Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...

, and

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and Mucous membrane, mucosal tissue from the endometrium, inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized ...

disorders,

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The Human feces, stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the ...

edema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. S ...

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and

helminthiases Helminthiasis, also known as worm infection, is any macroparasitic disease of humans and other animals in which a part of the body is infected with parasitic worms, known as helminths. There are numerous species of these parasites, which are br ...

such as

elephantiasis Elephantiasis, often incorrectly called elephantitis, is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling (edema). It is characterised by edema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstru ...

. In an experiment to test if ''M.pruriens'' might have an effect on the symptoms of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, Katzenschlager ''et al.'' found that a seed powder had a comparable, if not more favourable, effect as commercial formulations of L-dopa, although the trial only consisted of four people per test group. ''M. pruriens'' was found to increase

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

availability after application of

rock phosphate Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non- detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentox ...

in one Nigerian experiment. ''M. pruriens'' was used in Native American ''

milpa In agriculture, a milpa is a field for growing food crops and a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica, especially in the Yucatán Peninsula, in Mexico. The word ''milpa'' derives from the Nahuatl words ''milli'' and ''pan''. Based on th ...

'' agriculture. ''Mucuna'' seeds contain a large number of antinutritional compounds. The most important is L-dopa, which the digestive system of most animals confuses with the amino acid

tyrosine -Tyrosine or tyrosine (symbol Tyr or Y) or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine is one of the 20 standard amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. It is a conditionally essential amino acid with a polar side group. The word "tyrosine" is ...

, causing the production of defective proteins. Other antinutrients are

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

lectin Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are highly specific for sugar Moiety (chemistry), groups that are part of other molecules, so cause agglutination (biology), agglutination of particular cells or precipitation of glycoconjugates an ...

phytic acid Phytic acid is a six-fold dihydrogenphosphate ester of inositol (specifically, of the ''myo'' isomer), also called inositol hexaphosphate, inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) or inositol polyphosphate. At physiological pH, the phosphates are partia ...

cyanogenic glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

s, and

trypsin Trypsin is an enzyme in the first section of the small intestine that starts the digestion of protein molecules by cutting long chains of amino acids into smaller pieces. It is a serine protease from the PA clan superfamily, found in the dig ...

and

amylase An amylase () is an enzyme that catalysis, catalyses the hydrolysis of starch (Latin ') into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins the chemical process of digestion. Foods that contain large ...

inhibitors, although all these can be removed by long cooking. ''M. pruriens'' may also contain chemicals such as

serotonin Serotonin (), also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a monoamine neurotransmitter with a wide range of functions in both the central nervous system (CNS) and also peripheral tissues. It is involved in mood, cognition, reward, learning, ...

5-HTP 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), used medically as oxitriptan, is a naturally occurring amino acid and chemical precursor as well as a metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin. 5-HTP can be manufactured and us ...

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

, and the

hallucinogen Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mo ...

tryptamine Tryptamine is an indolamine metabolite of the essential amino acid tryptophan. The chemical structure is defined by an indole—a fused benzene and pyrrole ring, and a 2-aminoethyl group at the second carbon (third aromatic atom, with the firs ...

5-MeO-DMT 5-MeO-DMT (5-methoxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine), also known as ''O''-methylbufotenin or mebufotenin (), is a naturally occurring psychedelic of the tryptamine family. It is found in a wide variety of plant species, and is also secreted by ...

bufotenine Bufotenin, also known as dimethylserotonin or as 5-hydroxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine (5-HO-DMT), is a serotonergic psychedelic of the substituted tryptamine, tryptamine family. It is a chemical derivative, derivative of the psychedelic dime ...

and

dimethyltryptamine Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), also known as ''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine (''N'',''N''-DMT), is a Psychedelic drug, serotonergic hallucinogen and Investigational New Drug, investigational drug of the substituted tryptamine, tryptamine family tha ...

,Erowid (2002)
''Mucuna pruriens''
Created 2002-APR-22. Retrieved 2007-DEC-17 ''Mucuna'' is not traditionally consumed as a food crop, but some preliminary experiments have shown that if the antinutrients are removed or at least brought down to safe level, the beans can be fed to livestock or people. The L-dopa content is the most important and difficult toxin to get rid of. The seeds must be extensively processed before they can be safely eaten. Diallo & Berhe found the best method was to crack open the seeds and soak them in constantly running fresh water such as under an open faucet for 36 hours, or to put them in a bag and leave in a flowing river for 72 hours, before cooking them for over an hour. Over a thousand people in the

Republic of Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

were fed a meal of ''Mucuna'' (mixed with many other ingredients) with no obvious ill effects.Diallo & Berhe (2003)

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts the following 112 species: *'' Mucuna acuminata'' *'' Mucuna aimun'' *'' Mucuna analuciana'' *'' Mucuna angustifolia'' *'' Mucuna argentea'' *'' Mucuna argyrophylla'' *'' Mucuna atropurpurea'' *'' Mucuna aurea'' *''

Mucuna bennettii ''Mucuna bennettii'', commonly known as New Guinea creeper, red jade vine or flame of the forest, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, that is distributed from Sulawesi to Vanuatu. The species was formally described by Victor ...

'' *'' Mucuna biplicata'' *'' Mucuna birdwoodiana'' *'' Mucuna bodinieri'' *'' Mucuna brachycarpa'' *'' Mucuna bracteata'' *'' Mucuna cajamarca'' *'' Mucuna calophylla'' *'' Mucuna canaliculata'' *'' Mucuna championii'' *'' Mucuna chiapaneca'' *'' Mucuna coriacea'' *'' Mucuna cuatrecasasii'' *'' Mucuna curranii'' *'' Mucuna cyclocarpa'' *'' Mucuna diabolica'' *'' Mucuna diplax'' *'' Mucuna discolor'' *'' Mucuna ecuatoriana'' *'' Mucuna elliptica'' *'' Mucuna elmeri'' *'' Mucuna eurylamellata'' *'' Mucuna flagellipes'' *'' Mucuna gigantea'' *'' Mucuna glabra'' *'' Mucuna glabrialata'' *'' Mucuna globulifera'' *'' Mucuna gracilipes'' *'' Mucuna guangxiensis'' *'' Mucuna hainanensis'' *'' Mucuna havilandii'' *'' Mucuna hirtipetala'' *''

Mucuna holtonii ''Mucuna holtonii'' is a species of plant in the bean family, which is pollinated by bats. Bats are able to detect if the flowers have nectar using echolocation.*D. von Helversen and O. von Helversen. "Object recognition by echolocation: a nect ...

'' *'' Mucuna hooglandii'' *'' Mucuna humblotii'' *'' Mucuna imbricata'' *'' Mucuna incurvata'' *'' Mucuna interrupta'' *'' Mucuna jarocha'' *'' Mucuna kabaenensis'' *'' Mucuna kawakabuti'' *'' Mucuna keyensis'' *'' Mucuna killipiana'' *'' Mucuna klitgaardiae'' *'' Mucuna kostermansii'' *'' Mucuna lamellata'' *'' Mucuna lamii'' *'' Mucuna laticifera'' *'' Mucuna longipedunculata'' *'' Mucuna macrobotrys'' *'' Mucuna macrocarpa'' *'' Mucuna macrophylla'' *'' Mucuna macropoda'' *'' Mucuna manongarivensis'' *'' Mucuna melanocarpa'' *'' Mucuna membranacea'' *'' Mucuna mindorensis'' *'' Mucuna mitis'' *'' Mucuna mollis'' *'' Mucuna mollissima'' *'' Mucuna monosperma'' *'' Mucuna monticola'' *'' Mucuna mooneyi'' *'' Mucuna mutisiana'' *'' Mucuna neocaledonica'' *'' Mucuna novoguineensis'' *'' Mucuna occidentalis'' *'' Mucuna oligoplax'' *'' Mucuna pachycarpa'' *'' Mucuna pacifica'' *'' Mucuna pallida'' *'' Mucuna paniculata'' *'' Mucuna papuana'' *'' Mucuna persericea'' *'' Mucuna pesa'' *'' Mucuna platyphylla'' *'' Mucuna platyplekta'' *'' Mucuna poggei'' *''

Mucuna pruriens ''Mucuna pruriens'' is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia and widely naturalized and cultivated. Its English common names include monkey tamarind, velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yok ...

'' *'' Mucuna pseudoelliptica'' *'' Mucuna pungens'' *'' Mucuna reptans'' *'' Mucuna reticulata'' *'' Mucuna revoluta'' *'' Mucuna rostrata'' *'' Mucuna sakapipei'' *'' Mucuna samarensis'' *'' Mucuna sanjappae'' *'' Mucuna schlechteri'' *'' Mucuna sempervirens'' *'' Mucuna sericophylla'' *''

Mucuna sloanei ''Mucuna'' is a genus of around 110 accepted species of vines and shrubs of the Family (biology), family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical and subtropical forests in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, southern, southeastern, ...

'' *'' Mucuna stanleyi'' *'' Mucuna stans'' *'' Mucuna stenoplax'' *'' Mucuna subumbellata'' *'' Mucuna sumbawaensis'' *'' Mucuna tapantiana'' *'' Mucuna thailandica'' *'' Mucuna tomentosa'' *'' Mucuna toppingii'' *'' Mucuna urens'' *'' Mucuna verdcourtii'' *'' Mucuna warburgii''

Formerly placed here

*'' Canavalia mattogrossensis'' (Barb. Rodr.) Malme (as ''M. mattegrossensis'' Barb. Rodr.) *'' Psophocarpus scandens'' (Endl.) Verdc. (as ''M. comorensis'' Vatke)

Gallery

Flowers

File:Mucuna nigricans (9212686208).jpg, '' Mucuna nigricans'' File:Mucuna birdwoodiana.jpg, '' Mucuna birdwoodiana'' File:Mucuna-bennettii-SF24230-01.jpg, ''

'' File:Mucuna coriacea subsp. irritans 1DS-II 1-7767.jpg, '' Mucuna coriacea'' File:大果油麻藤 Mucuna macrocarpa -香港禮賓府 Hong Kong Government House- (9252393885).jpg, '' Mucuna macrocarpa''

Seed pods

File:Mucuna sanjappae fruit.jpg, '' Mucuna sanjappae'' File:Mucuna poggei MS 3655.jpg, '' Mucuna poggei'' File:Mucuna-gigantea-SF23215-02.jpg, '' Mucuna gigantea'' File:Mucuna coriacea subsp. irritans 1DS-II 1-7770.jpg, '' Mucuna coriacea'' File:Fruits of Mucuna membranacea.jpg, '' Mucuna membranacea''

References

External links

* *

* {{Authority control Medicinal plants Fabaceae genera Pantropical flora