Mucuna pruriens (Kaunch Beej) Powder - Usage, Dosage and Benefits

Overview

Latin name: Mucuna pruriens

English name: Cowhage, Cow itch, Velvet beans

Indian name: Kaunch beej, Kapikachhu seeds powder

Tamil name: Poonai Kaali Vithu, PoonaiKali Vidai, PoonaiKali Vithu

Kannada: Nasukunni

Mucuna pruriens is one of the popular medicinal plant of India. It is constituent of more than 200 indigenous drug formulations. This herb is widespread over most of the subcontinent and is found in bushes and hedges and dry-deciduous, low forests throughout the plains of India. All parts of Mucuna pruriens possess valuable medicinal properties and there is a heavy demand of Mucuna in Indian medicinal plants and pharmaceutical market. After the discovery that Mucuna seeds contain L-dopa, an anti-parkinson’s disease drug, its demand in international market has increased many fold and demand has motivated Indian farmers to start commercial cultivation.

Another wonderful use of Kaunch seeds powder or Mucuna seeds powder is its role in improving the sexual stamina and strength in men. It is nautre’s best male aphrodisiac and helps to maintain harder erections for longer duration of time. Take 1 teaspoonful to 1 tablespoonful of Mucuna pruriens powder twice daily.

Velvet Beans – The plant is also famous as Velvet beans as the beans which grow on this itchy plant are velvet to touch and the color of the seeds is initially white and slowly they become violet in color and feathery to touch. That’s why they are called Velvet beans also.

Plant Description

Mucuna pruriens is an annual twinning plant. Leaves are trifoliate, gray-silky beneath, petioles are long and silky, 6.3–11.3 cm. Leaflets are membranous, terminal leaflets are smaller, lateral very unequal sided. Dark purple flowers (6 to 30) occur in drooping racemes. Fruits are curved, 4 – 6 seeded. The longitudinally ribbed pod, is densely covered with persistent pale-brown or grey trichomes that cause irritating blisters. Seeds are black ovoid and 12 mm long.

Medicinal Properties of Mucuna Pruriens

Rasa – Madhura (Sweet), Tikta (Bitter)
Guna – Guru (Heavy), Snigdha (Oily)
Veerya – Ushna (Hot potency)
Vipaka – Madhura (Sweet)
Prabhava – Vrushya (Aphrodisiac)
Effect on Tridosha – Balances all three doshas (Vata, Pitta & Kapha)

Chemical Constituents of the Velvet Beans

Seeds contain L-DoPA (4-3,4-dihydroxy phenylalanine), glutathione, lecithin, gallic acid, glycosides, nicotine, prurenine, prurenidine, dark brown viscous oil. (Rastogi and Mehrotra 1991a,b; Singh et al. 1995)

Parts Used

Seeds

Benefits of Mucuna Pruriens or Kapikachhu Seeds Powder

Mucuna seed powder is used as an aphrodisiac to improve the quality of the sperms, their total count. It helps in longer and sustained erection. The herb helps a lot in premature ejaculation. The seed powder is also used for improving general physical stamina and strength.
Roots, according to the Ayurveda are diuretic, stimulant, aphrodisiac. It is considered useful to relieve nephropathy, dysmenorrhea, nervous weakness, general weakness, and ulcers.
This herb is a source of minerals. According to Ayurveda, seeds are astringent, improves stamina, libido, low sperm count, anthelmintic, aphrodisiac, general and sexual tonic.
Recent discovery show that the seeds contain L-dopa. It is used in Parkinson’s problem.