Mucuna

Mucuna is a genus of around 114 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical and subtropical forests in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.[2]

Mucuna
Mucuna gigantea flowers
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Phaseoleae
Genus: Mucuna
Adans.[1]
Species

More than 110, see text.

Synonyms[2][1]

Homotypic:

  • Hornera Neck. ex A.Juss. (1821), nom. superfl.

Heterotypic:

  • Cacuvallum Medik. (1787)
  • Carpopogon Roxb. (1827)
  • Citta Lour. (1790)
  • Labradia Swediaur (1801)
  • Macranthus Lour. (1790)
  • Marcanthus Lour., orth. var.
  • Macroceratides Raddi (1820)
  • Negretia Ruiz & Pav. (1794)
  • Pillera Endl. (1833)
  • Stizolobium P.Browne (1756), nom. rej.
  • Zoophthalmum P.Browne (1756)

The leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, or spiraled, and the flowers are pea-like but larger, with distinctive curved petals, and occurring in racemes. Like other legumes, Mucuna plants bear pods. They are generally bat-pollinated and produce seeds that are buoyant sea-beans. These have a characteristic three-layered appearance, appearing like the eyes of a large mammal in some species and like a hamburger in others (most notably M. sloanei) and giving rise to common names like deer-eye beans, donkey-eye beans, ox-eye beans, or hamburger seed.

The name of the genus is derived from mucunã, a Tupi–Guarani word for these species.[3]

Ecology

Some Mucuna species are used as food plants by caterpillars of Lepidoptera. These include Morpho butterflies and the two-barred flasher (Astraptes fulgerator), which is sometimes found on M. holtonii and perhaps others. The plant pathogenic fungus Mycosphaerella mucunae is named for being first discovered on Mucuna.

Uses
Mucuna poggei pods
Mucuna birdwoodiana in Hong Kong

The pods of some species are covered in coarse hairs that contain the proteolytic enzyme mucunain and cause itchy blisters when they come in contact with skin; specific epithets such as pruriens (Latin: "itching") or urens (Latinized Ancient Greek: "stinging like a nettle") refer to this. Other parts of the plant have medicinal properties. The plants or their extracts are sold in herbalism against a range of conditions, such as urinary tract, neurological, and menstruation disorders, constipation, edema, fevers, tuberculosis, and helminthiases such as elephantiasis.[4] In an experiment to test if M. pruriens might have an effect on the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, Katzenschlager et al. found that a seed powder had a comparable, if not more favourable, effect as commercial formulations of L-dopa, although the trial only consisted of four people per test group.[5]

M. pruriens was found to increase phosphorus availability after application of rock phosphate in one Nigerian experiment.[6] M. pruriens was used in Native American milpa agriculture.

Mucuna seeds contain a large number of antinutritional compounds. The most important is L-dopa, which the digestive system of most animals confuses with the amino acid tyrosine, causing the production of defective proteins. Other antinutrients are tannins, lectins, phytic acid, cyanogenic glycosides, and trypsin and amylase inhibitors, although all these can be removed by long cooking.[7] M. pruriens may also contain chemicals such as serotonin, 5-HTP, nicotine, and the hallucinogenic tryptamines 5-MeO-DMT, bufotenine and dimethyltryptamine,[7][8] Mucuna is not traditionally consumed as a food crop, but some preliminary experiments have shown that if the antinutrients are removed or at least brought down to safe level, the beans can be fed to livestock or people. The L-dopa content is the most important and difficult toxin to get rid of. The seeds must be extensively processed before they can be safely eaten. Diallo & Berhe found the best method was to crack open the seeds and soak them in constantly running fresh water such as under an open faucet for 36 hours, or to put them in a bag and leave in a flowing river for 72 hours, before cooking them for over an hour. Over a thousand people in the Republic of Guinea were fed a meal of Mucuna (mixed with many other ingredients) with no obvious ill effects.[9]

Species
Mucuna urens parts drawing from Vervolg ob de Avbeeldingen der artseny-gewassen met derzelver Nederduitsche en Latynsche beschryvingen (Adolphus Ypey, 1813)
Mucuna urens habitus
Mucuna urens seed, sometimes called Hamburger bean
Mucuna urens - MHNT

Plants of the World Online currently (2023) includes:[2]

  1. Mucuna acuminata Graham ex Baker
  2. Mucuna aimun Wiriad.
  3. Mucuna analuciana T.M.Moura, Mansano & A.M.G.Azevedo
  4. Mucuna angustifolia Adema
  5. Mucuna argentea T.M.Moura, G.P.Lewis & A.M.G.Azevedo
  6. Mucuna argyrophylla Standl.
  7. Mucuna atropurpurea (Roxb.) DC. ex Wight
  8. Mucuna aurea C.B.Rob.
  9. Mucuna bennettii F.Muell. – red jade vine
  10. Mucuna biplicata Teijsm. & Binn. ex Kurz
  11. Mucuna birdwoodiana Tutcher
  12. Mucuna bodinieri H.Lév.
  13. Mucuna brachycarpa Rech.
  14. Mucuna bracteata DC. ex Kurz
  15. Mucuna cajamarca T.M.Moura, G.P.Lewis & A.M.G.Azevedo
  16. Mucuna calophylla W.W.Sm.
  17. Mucuna canaliculata Verdc.
  18. Mucuna championii Benth.
  19. Mucuna chiapaneca M.Sousa & T.M.Moura
  20. Mucuna coriacea Baker
    1. M. coriacea subsp. coriacea
    2. M. coriacea subsp. irritans (Burtt Davy) Verdc.
  21. Mucuna cuatrecasasii Hern.Cam. & C.Barbosa ex L.K.Ruíz
  22. Mucuna curranii Elmer
  23. Mucuna cyclocarpa F.P.Metcalf
  24. Mucuna diabolica Backer
  25. Mucuna diplax Wilmot-Dear
  26. Mucuna discolor Merr. & L.M.Perry
  27. Mucuna ecuatoriana T.M.Moura, G.P.Lewis, Mansano & A.M.G.Azevedo
  28. Mucuna elliptica DC.
  29. Mucuna elmeri Merr.
  30. Mucuna eurylamellata Adema
  31. Mucuna ferox Verdc.
  32. Mucuna flagellipes Vogel ex Hook.f.
  33. Mucuna gigantea (Willd.) DC.
  34. Mucuna glabra (Reinecke) Wilmot-Dear
  35. Mucuna glabrialata (Hauman) Verdc.
  36. Mucuna globulifera T.M.Moura, N.Zamora & A.M.G.Azevedo
  37. Mucuna gracilipes Craib
  38. Mucuna guangxiensis K.W.Jiang & Y.Feng Huang
  39. Mucuna hainanensis Hayata
  40. Mucuna havilandii Wiriad.
  41. Mucuna hirtipetala Wilmot-Dear & R.Sha
  42. Mucuna holtonii (Kuntze) Moldenke
  43. Mucuna hooglandii Verdc.
  44. Mucuna humblotii Drake
  45. Mucuna imbricata (Roxb. ex Lindl.) DC. ex Baker
  46. Mucuna incurvata Wilmot-Dear & R.Sha
  47. Mucuna interrupta Gagnep. (synonym M. nigricans)
  48. Mucuna japira A.M.G.Azevedo, K.Agostini & Sazima
  49. Mucuna jarocha T.M.Moura, Mansano, Gereau & A.M.G.Azevedo
  50. Mucuna kabaenensis Adema
  51. Mucuna kawakabuti Wiriad.
  52. Mucuna keyensis Burck
  53. Mucuna killipiana Hern.Cam. & C.Barbosa
  54. Mucuna klitgaardiae T.M.Moura, G.P.Lewis & A.M.G.Azevedo
  55. Mucuna kostermansii Wiriad.
  56. Mucuna lamellata Wilmot-Dear
  57. Mucuna lamii Verdc.
  58. Mucuna laticifera Ingalh., N.V.Page & S.S.Gaikwad
  59. Mucuna longipedunculata Merr.
  60. Mucuna macrobotrys Hance
  61. Mucuna macrocarpa Wall.
  62. Mucuna macrophylla Miq.
  63. Mucuna macropoda Baker f.
  64. Mucuna manongarivensis Du Puy & Labat
  65. Mucuna melanocarpa Hochst. ex A.Rich.
  66. Mucuna membranacea Hayata
  67. Mucuna mindorensis Merr.
  68. Mucuna mitis (Ruiz & Pav.) DC.
  69. Mucuna mollis (Kunth) DC.
  70. Mucuna mollissima Teijsm. & Binn. ex Kurz
  71. Mucuna monosperma Roxb. ex Wight
  72. Mucuna monticola N.Zamora, T.M.Moura & A.M.G.Azevedo
  73. Mucuna mooneyi T.M.Moura, Gereau & G.P.Lewis
  74. Mucuna mutisiana (Kunth) DC.
  75. Mucuna neocaledonica Baker f.
  76. Mucuna novoguineensis Scheff.
  77. Mucuna occidentalis (Hepper) T.M.Moura & G.P.Lewis
  78. Mucuna oligoplax Niyomdham & Wilmot-Dear
  79. Mucuna pachycarpa Parreno ex Wilmot-Dear
  80. Mucuna pacifica Hosok.
  81. Mucuna pallida Cordem.
  82. Mucuna paniculata Baker
  83. Mucuna papuana Adema
  84. Mucuna persericea (Wilmot-Dear) T.M.Moura & A.M.G.Azevedo
  85. Mucuna pesa De Wild.
  86. Mucuna platyphylla A.Gray
  87. Mucuna platyplekta Quisumb. & Merr.
  88. Mucuna poggei Taub.
    1. M. poggei var. pesa (De Wild.) Verdc.
    2. M. poggei var. poggei
  89. Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. – velvet bean, cowhage, kapikachu, etc.
  90. Mucuna pseudoelliptica T.M.Moura, G.P.Lewis & A.M.G.Azevedo
  91. Mucuna reptans Verdc.
  92. Mucuna reticulata Burck
  93. Mucuna revoluta Wilmot-Dear
  94. Mucuna rostrata Benth.
  95. Mucuna sakapipei Wiriad.
  96. Mucuna samarensis Merr.
  97. Mucuna sanjappae Aitawade & S.R.Yadav [10]
  98. Mucuna schlechteri Harms
  99. Mucuna sempervirens Hemsl.
  100. Mucuna sericophylla Perkins
  101. Mucuna sloanei Fawc. & Rendle
  102. Mucuna stanleyi C.T.White
  103. Mucuna stans Welw. ex Baker
  104. Mucuna stenoplax Wilmot-Dear
  105. Mucuna subumbellata Wilmot-Dear
  106. Mucuna sumbawaensis Wiriad.
  107. Mucuna tapantiana N.Zamora & T.M.Moura
  108. Mucuna thailandica Niyomdham & Wilmot-Dear
  109. Mucuna tomentosa K.Schum.
  110. Mucuna toppingii Merr.
  111. Mucuna urens (L.) Medik. - type species
  112. Mucuna verdcourtii Wiriad.
  113. Mucuna warburgii K.Schum. & Lauterb.
  114. Mucuna yadaviana S.S.Gaikwad, Lawand & Gurav

Formerly placed here
  • Canavalia mattogrossensis (Barb. Rodr.) Malme (as M. mattegrossensis Barb. Rodr.)
  • Psophocarpus scandens (Endl.) Verdc. (as M. comorensis Vatke)[11]

References
  1. "Genus: Mucuna Adans". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-10-05. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  2. Plants of the World Online: Mucuna Adans. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  3. Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. 3 M-Q. CRC Press. p. 1738. ISBN 978-0-8493-2677-6.
  4. Oudhia (2002)
  5. Katzenschlager et al. (2004)
  6. Vanlauwe et al. (2000)
  7. Szabo, N. J. (April 2003). "Indolealkylamines in Mucuna species" (PDF). Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems. 1 (2–3): 295–307.
  8. Erowid (2002): Mucuna pruriens. Created 2002-APR-22. Retrieved 2007-DEC-17
  9. Diallo & Berhe (2003)
  10. Aitawade, Makarand M.; Yadav, S.R. (2012). "Mucuna sanjappae, a new species from the north-Western Ghats, India". Kew Bulletin. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 67 (3): 539–543. doi:10.1007/s12225-012-9369-1. S2CID 46121626.
  11. "GRIN Species Records of Mucuna". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-02-23.

Further reading
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