Mucuna pruriens (Mucuna; also known as velvet bean), which is a natural source of levodopa, is used in Ayurveda to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD). Herein, we developed a Mucuna pruriens seeds extract (MPE) that contains low amounts of levodopa (less than 0.1%) and evaluated its neuroprotective effects against PD using cellular (in murine microliga, BV-2 and human neuroblastoma, SH-SY5Y cells), Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster models. MPE (12.5-50 μg/mL) reduced H2O2-induced cytotoxicity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and LPS-induced nitric oxide species (NOS) in BV-2 cells. In a non-contact co-culture assay, MPE mitigated neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cell death induced by treatment of cell culture media obtained from LPS-treated BV-2 cells. In addition, MPE reduced 6-hydroxydopamine-induced cell death in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. MPE (at concentrations at 20 and 40 μg/mL) increased C. elegans lifespan by 24 and 66 hr (25.0 and 47.8%), respectively, against methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced neurotoxicity. MPE (at 40 μg/mL) ameliorated 6-hydroxydopamine and rotenone-induced neurotoxicity in D. melanogaster by increasing climbing height by 4.7 and 3.2 cm (35.3 and 32.8%), respectively. The data accumulated in the current study support MPE potential neuroprotective effects against PD and warrants further studies on this natural product.

Neuroprotective effects of Mucuna pruriens seed extract against Parkinson's disease in microglia and neuroblastoma cells, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster

256th National Meeting (2018)

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