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I am replying to the original message by J F Slattery PhD and follow-up comments and questions concerning the use of mucuna puriens (velvet bean) in lieu of carbidopa-levadopa as a dopamine replacement therapy. I am NOT a medical professional, but have worked in medical settings for years (lab assistant, medical transacriptionist, and executive assistant with the Veterans Administration, and my three grown children are medical professionals. Additionally, as a core member of the Parkinson's Pipeline Project (dealing with acceleration of drug and treatment approval for PD), I have studied a lot about dopamine replacement therapy. Visit our website at www.pdpipeline.org Peggy Comments: First and foremost, Carbidopa-levadopa (most commonly called "Sinemet" or simply L-dopa) is and has been a regulated drug since the 1970's (possibly earlier). A regulated drug means that its use has been through rigorous testing (and continues to be) for safety issues, changes in dosage, side effects, interactions occurring when combined with other medications, etc. and is monitored in the U.S. by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration). Although this monitoring system is not infallible, it is far better than no regulation of medications at all. The added carbidopa is used with the levadopa to assist in more efficient uptake of the L-dopa and to control for the extreme nausea caused by the pure form of L-dopa. A similar agency, the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA), is the European equivalent to the FDA in the United States. Mucuna puriens and fava beans are natural sources of levadopa, but are NOT regulated in any way. Many "regulated" medications or treatments are derived from plants and being approved by FDA means they have been tested for proper dosing, interactions, complications and side effects. Heroin is a highly addictive drug derived from morphine, which is obtained from the opium poppy. Even caffeine, something commonly ingested by individuals, is found in foods like coffee and chocolate (both made from plants), and when used excessively cause insomnia, nervous conditions, and act as a diuretic, which may cause dehydration. How would you know how much "dopamine" you would be getting with the velvet bean or fava beans? Parkinson's disease symptoms are a result of deficient dopamine levels. Did you know that the opposite of such a condition (or too much dopamine) be easy to be getting too much dopamine through ingesting this as foods. I would suggest that you plow your velvet beans under and talk with your doctor about an appropriate and approved treatment for your symptoms. Additionally, you may want to keep a watch on some very interesting studies being done internationally. The research appears to be promising, but as they say, "The jury is still out.": "Assessment of symptomatic and neuroprotective efficacy of mucuna pruriens seed extract in rodent model of Parkinson's disease" Kasture S, Pontis S, Pinna A, Schintu N, Spina L, Longoni R, Simola N, Ballero M, Morelli M. Neurotox Res. 2009 Feb;15(2):111-22. Epub 2009 Feb 20 Department of Pharmacology, MGV's Pharmacy College, Nashik, 422 003, India. " Improved health-relevant functionality in dark germinated Mucuna pruriens sprouts by elicitation with peptide and phytochemical elicitors." Randhir R, Kwon YI, Shetty K. Bioresour Technol. 2009 Oct;100(19):4507-14. Epub 2009 May 19 Department of Food Science, Chenoweth Laboratory, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA "Estimation of L-dopa from Mucuna pruriens LINN and formulations containing M. pruriens by HPTLC method" Modi KP, Patel NM, Goyal RK. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2008 Mar;56(3):357-9 Department of Pharmacology, Shri B. M. Shah College of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, College Campus, Modasa-383315, India. "Antiparkinson drug--Mucuna pruriens shows antioxidant and metal chelating activity" Dhanasekaran M, Tharakan B, Manyam BV Phytother Res. 2008 Jan;22(1):6-11 Department of Pharmacal Sciences, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn, Alabama, USA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn