Biochemical composition of Mucuna species: An underutilized legume crop of medicinal value

Mucuna species are important underutilized legume crop of medicinal importance due to the presence of bioactive compound L-DOPA in seeds, which is a potential drug for treating Parkinson’s disease. The immense medicinal and nutritional aspects of most of Mucuna species are still not much evaluated. We compared four wild species of Mucuna viz; Mucuna pruriens var. pruriens (velvet bean), M. monosperma (Negro bean), M. nigricans (Black Jade vine) and M. gigantea (Sea bean or Elephant Cowitch) collected through explorations from Eastern Ghats of Odisha, India. These have been analyzed for proximate seed composition, fatty acid profiles, and bioactive compound L-DOPA (3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine). Dry seeds of Mucuna species contained higher amounts of crude protein (21.2-30.62%) and fat content (3.87-7.59%) as compared to other commonly consumed pulses. The fatty acid profiles showed presence of higher concentration of unsaturated fatty acids of oleic and linoleic acids which are nutritionally superior for human consumption. Seeds showed a wide variation in quality traits ranging 29.0 to 39.3 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g for total phenols, 57.7 to 74.2 mg quercetin equivalent/ g for total flavonoids, 41.52 to 62.73 gTA/100g for tannins and 62.62 to 79.67 g/100g for total sugars on dry weight basis. The content of bioactive compound L-dopa varied from 4.63 to 7.30% with maximum content in M. pruriens (5.78-7.30%), followed by M. gigantea (6.10%), M. nigricans(5.10%) and lowest in M. monosperma (4.63%). The results concluded that a considerable variation exist in the Mucuna germplasm seeds phytoconstituents other than pharmaceutical active compound L-dopa, hence can be used as alternative legume for the people in developing countries to meet both food and medicinal application.