Dear Lisa Carper and others interested in Mucuna plant Typing is getting very difficult /what isn't difficult for a 16 year parki! thus the shortage of information in my first message. But others wrote more and I am reposting their letters from the list so that everything is in one place. first- Lisa's request for information ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Oct 1995 07:27:57 -0400 From: Lisa Carper <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: See CBC the Nature of Things For those of us not in Canada, please share what you saw on the show. >CBC Thursday night November 19 "the Nature of Things" >Did anyone see the interesting segment on Parkinson's > and alternative medicine/ancient medicine. >In my opinion the beans being harvested looked very like >fava or broad beans which we know contain L-D. >Any one out there quicker than me with the RECORD button? >Any one know about this ancient Indian medicine? >Anne Rutherford St John's NF What I saw. The program I didn't tape was The Nature of Things, shown on CBC 19 Oct 95. The general topic was 'nature provides substances which can be used to treat illness'. Parkinsons was probably chosen because of the excellent visual impact of the 'take up your bed and walk' variety. First scene A western parkinsonian in the OFF state is given medication in pill form. Time goes by --maybe 30 minutes plus or minus. He gets up and walks with a great big smile on his face. (I know that feeling) Next scene is in India. We are introduced to the ancient Ayervedic medicine which is still used today. A parkinsonian has great difficulty with walking (and balance, I think) He is given a drink made out of a powdered substance mixed with a liquid, and we wait maybe half an hour . The patient walks very well, moving quickly and with better posture. He also smiles. During this segment we see the mucuna plants being harvested. and as I said in my message the seeds look very much like broad beans in the pod. This topic ends and we go to another. Recent postings by other listmembers on this topic follow ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 22 Oct 1995 00:03:08 -0400 From: "Dave Stuart ([log in to unmask])" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Mucuna Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 11:05:04 -0300 From: mckinney <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Makuna I am writing on behalf of my wife who was diagnosed two years ago with PD. This evening we watched "The Nature of Things" on Canadian television and were interested to find it featured the subject of natural remdies for various diseases. One possible natural aid for relief from Pd symtoms was a vegetable like plant grown in India called the Makuna ( I am not sure of the exact spelling). It was a pod type of plant something like a pea pod. The pods were ground to powder and mixed with a liquid and swallowed as a drink by the Parkinson patient. In a half hour there seemed to be notable improvement in the mobilty and steadiness of the individual involved. At that point in the program the subject changed and another remedy for another area was discussed. It was my impression that the Makuna plant was more effective and was comparable to several drugs taken by conventional standards. Sixteen out of twenty patients experienced improved results. My question is: Has anyone else heard of this treatment and where if at all would this remedy be available? Health food stores maybe? Bob Bob and All, I have been using Mucuna for about six months with very good, postive efffectiveness. See my posting on Wed. 18 Oct 1995 13:53:08 -0400 for a little more about my experience with it. Dave Stuart([log in to unmask]) 10-21-95 ------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Oct 1995 13:53:08 -0400 From: "Dave Stuart ([log in to unmask])" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: My Experience Using Herbs I am new to this list so hope that I am doing this right. I have had PD for 17 years and am now 60. I have used both traditional and alternative approaches to managing the PD. In the herb area, I was recently (about six months ago) directed to an ayurvedic herb frim India called Mucuna Pruriens (in English it is called Cow-itch). It comes as a redish brown cake. It has to be pulverized and encapsulated. My experience is that it acts as a very mild Sinemet but is quite effective. Has anyone else used it? If so, what has your experience been? Dave Stuart([log in to unmask]) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Oct 1995 20:42:47 EDT From: Joan Dykstra <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Mucuna & Fava Beans There have been various comments and questions regarding Mucuna and fava beans. These are two very different substances: The seed of the Mucuna pruriens (cowhage plant) is made into a powder to be used as a drug (called Atmagupta) to be used as a treatment for Parkinson's Disease. (This is a part of Ayervedic medicine.) The side effects are mild and infrequent and the drug is well tolerated. The therapeutic effect is attributed to the L-Dopa content and possibly some other constituent, as yet unknown.* *Vaidya AB, Rajagopalan TG, Mankodi NA, Antarkar DS, Tathed PS, Purohit AV, Wadia NH. "Treatment of Parkinson's disease with the cowhage plant - Mucuna pruriens Bak. Neurology (India) 1978; 26:171-6. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Fava bean (Vicia faba), sometimes called Broad bean is consumed as a bean (usually boiled). In 1913 Guggenheim identified L-DOPA in the seedlings, pods, and beans of this plant. Improvement of parkinsonian features have been seen after consumption. It is my understanding that it takes lots and lots and pods, and beans of this plant. Improvement of parkinsonian features have been seen after consumption. It is my understanding that it takes lots and lots and lots of beans to make a difference. ** **Adv Neurol 1993;60:681-4 and J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1992 Aug; 55 (8):725-7 ------------------------------ End of copied postings on this very interesting topic. Any one else with experience of Ayervedic medicine? Anne Rutherford St John's NF <<<[log in to unmask]>>>