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A Water Extract of Mucuna pruriens Provides Long-Term Amelioration of Parkinsonism with Reduced Risk for Dyskinesias

Authors

  • Christopher Lieu aDepartments of Neurology and Neural & Behavioral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
  • Allen Kunselman bDepartment of Public Health Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
  • Bala Manyam aDepartments of Neurology and Neural & Behavioral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
  • Kala Venkiteswaran aDepartments of Neurology and Neural & Behavioral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
  • Thyagarajan Subramanian aDepartments of Neurology and Neural & Behavioral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA

Keywords:

basal ganglia, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), nigrostriatal degeneration, movement disorders, complementary and alternative medicine

Abstract

Dopaminergic anti-parkinsonian medications, such as levodopa (LD) cause drug-induced dyskinesias (DID) in majority of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Mucuna pruriens, a legume extensively used in Ayurveda to treat PD, is reputed to provide anti-parkinsonian benefits without inducing DID. We compared the behavioral effects of chronic parenteral administration of a water extract of Mucuna pruriens seed powder (MPE) alone without any additives, MPE combined with the peripheral dopa-decarboxylase inhibitor (DDCI) benserazide (MPE+BZ), LD+BZ and LD alone without BZ in the hemiparkinsonian rat model of PD. A battery of behavioral tests assessed by blinded investigators served as outcome measures in these randomized trials. In experiment 1, animals that received LD+BZ or MPE+BZ at high (6mg/Kg) and medium (4mg/Kg) equivalent doses demonstrated significant alleviation of parkinsonism, but, developed severe dose-dependent DID. LD+BZ at low doses (2mg/Kg) did not provide significant alleviation of parkinsonism. In contrast, MPE+BZ at an equivalent low dose significantly ameliorated parkinsonism. In experiment 2, MPE without any additives (12mg/Kg and 20mg/Kg LD equivalent dose) alleviated parkinsonism with significantly less DID compared to LD+BZ or MPE+BZ. In experiment 3, MPE without additives administered chronically provided long-term anti-parkinsonian benefits without causing DID. In experiment 4, MPE alone provided significantly more behavioral benefit when compared to the equivalent dose of synthetic LD alone without BZ. In experiment 5, MPE alone reduced the severity of DID in animals initially primed with LD+BZ. These findings suggest that Mucuna pruriens contains water soluble ingredients that either have an intrinsic DDCI-like activity or mitigate the need for an add-on DDCI to ameliorate parkinsonism. These unique long-term antiparkinsonian effects of a parenterally administered water extract of Mucuna pruriens seed powder may provide a platform for future drug discoveries and novel treatment strategies in PD. Keywords: basal ganglia, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), nigrostriatal degeneration, movement disorders, complementary and alternative medicine

Author Biography

Bala Manyam, aDepartments of Neurology and Neural & Behavioral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA

cDepartment of Neurology, Southern Illinois University, Springfield, IL

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