ABSTRACT:
Mucuna is an unconventional plant species having promising nutritional, pharmaceutical and cosmaceutical bioactive constituents. Mucuna pruriens commonly known as cow-age or cowitch or velvet bean or Alkushi, is a medicinal plant traditionally used in Indian medicine belongs to the family Leguminosae. International studies have shown that this plant surpasses the benefits of the substance levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) M. pruriens seed is a natural source of the amino acid L-3,4-dihydroxy phenyl alanine (L-DOPA), the direct precursor to the neuro transmitter dopamine which is used widely in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Serotonin, oxitriptan, nicotine, N.N-DMT, and hufotenine are the other chemicals found in M. pruriens in addition to L-DOPA. According to Ancient Ayurvedic literature Mucuna is used as a potent aphrodisiac, geriatric tonic and vermifuge. It is also used for the treatment of menstruation disorders, constipation, edema, fever, tuberculosis, etc. The present review provides an insight on phytochemical profiling of M. pruriens seeds which shows the presence of Alkaloids, tannins, steroid, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids, carbohydrates, amino acids. The chromatographic Fingerprinting of M. pruriens will be done, where in L-DOPA has been used as a marker, which shows amount of active constituent L-DOPA present in wild and cultivated species of M. pruriens seeds.