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Mucuna pruriens - Kapikachchu

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Kapikachuchu, Cowhage, Mucuna pruriens

Kapikachuchu is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia and widely naturalized and cultivated. Its English common names include velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean. The plant is notorious for the extreme itchiness it produces on contact, particularly with the young foliage and the seed pods. It has value in agricultural and horticultural use and has a range of medicinal properties.

Uses

nervous system problems, handle stress, Parkinson’s Disease, Brain disease, Prolactin levels, Male Infertility, Cobra Venom, Diarrhea, Sore throats

Parts Used

Dried Folaige, Whole herb.

Chemical Composition

There are many ingredients in mucuna pruriens, while L-dopa is the main content that we care about. Mature seeds contain typically 3.1-6.1% Levodopa, although up to 12.5% has been recorded. The leaves tend to contain around 0.5%.[1]

Common names

Language Common name
Kannada
Hindi
Malayalam
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi NA
Gujarathi NA
Punjabi NA
Kashmiri NA
Sanskrit
English Agrimony


Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Dravya

Rasa

Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Astringent)

Guna

Laghu (Light), Ruksha (Dry), Tikshna (Sharp)

Veerya

Ushna (Hot)

Vipaka

Katu (Pungent)

Karma

Kapha, Vata

Prabhava

Habit

Herb

Identification

Leaf

Kind Shape Feature
Simple trifoliate lateral leaflets conspicuously asymmetrical, 7–15 cm long, 5–12 cm wide, terminal leaflet symmetrical, somewhat smaller

[2]

Flower

Type Size Color and composition Stamen More information
Unisexual 4–13 cm long purple or white 5 Usually more or less S-shaped, finely pubescent with white to light brown hairs

Fruit

Type Size Mass Appearance Seeds More information
simple 7–10 mm clearly grooved lengthwise, Lowest hooked hairs aligned towards crown 100-seed {{{6}}}

Other features

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

Where to get the saplings

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings.

How to plant/cultivate

Mucuna is a popular kharif crop in India. Seeds are sown at rate of 50 kg/ha between 15 June to 15th July with plant spacing of 60 × 60 cm. Delayed sowing may result in infestation of aphids (Aphis craccivora) (Oudhia 2001a ).[3]

Commonly seen growing in areas

Tall grasslands, meadows, Borders of forests and fields.

Photo Gallery

References

External Links