{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T23:06:31Z","timestamp":1788908791532,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Toxicol."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n \n Mucuna pruriens<\/jats:italic>\n contains L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) and other bioactive constituents with potential relevance to motor dysfunction; however, the safety of crude extracts and the behavioural effects of multi-botanical formulations remain insufficiently characterized. This study evaluated the concentration-dependent toxicity of crude\n M. pruriens<\/jats:italic>\n seed extract and its locomotor effects, alone and in combination with\n Cucurbita pepo<\/jats:italic>\n and\n Arachis hypogaea<\/jats:italic>\n , in pesticide-exposed adult male\n Drosophila melanogaster<\/jats:italic>\n .\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n For toxicity assessment, flies were exposed for 7 days to diets containing 0.1%\u20132.0% (w\/v)\n M. pruriens<\/jats:italic>\n . Each treatment comprised nine vials containing 20 flies per vial, giving 180 flies per treatment. Mortality, survival, hazard ratios, no-observed-effect level (NOEL), lowest-observed-effect level (LOEL), and model-derived median lethal concentration (LC\n 50<\/jats:sub>\n ) were determined. Locomotor impairment was induced using paraquat at 10 or 20\u00a0mM or glyphosate at 0.5%, 1.0%, or 2.0% (w\/v). Negative geotaxis was evaluated in three independent experimental runs, with four vials per treatment per run and 10 flies per vial, giving 12 vial-level experimental units and 120 flies per treatment. Vial-level area under the climbing-response curve (AUC) was used as the primary locomotor endpoint.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Seven-day mortality increased from 13.9% in negative control to 45.6% at 2.0%\n M. pruriens<\/jats:italic>\n . The operational NOEL and LOEL were 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. Logistic modelling estimated an LC\n 50<\/jats:sub>\n of 2.06% (95% CI, approximately 1.71%\u20132.41%); this estimate was model-dependent and extrapolated because mortality remained below 50%. Paraquat and glyphosate significantly reduced vial-level locomotor AUC relative to the negative control. Treatment with 0.1%\n M. pruriens<\/jats:italic>\n , alone or in combination with\n C. pepo<\/jats:italic>\n and\/or\n A. hypogaea<\/jats:italic>\n , produced partial locomotor improvement relative to pesticide-only baselines, but none of the treatments restored performance to the negative-control level.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n \n Crude\n M. pruriens<\/jats:italic>\n seed extract exhibited concentration-dependent toxicity, while the 0.1% concentration was associated with partial locomotor improvement in pesticide-exposed\n D. melanogaster<\/jats:italic>\n . The findings provide preliminary toxicological and behavioural evidence but do not establish direct neuronal protection or a molecular neuroprotective mechanism. Further studies should include appropriate vehicle and solvent controls, higher concentrations to improve LC\n 50<\/jats:sub>\n estimation, fixed-total-dose combination formulations, phytochemical standardization, and mechanistic assessment of oxidative stress, mitochondrial integrity, and dopaminergic neurons.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/ftox.2026.1930770","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T22:10:20Z","timestamp":1788905420000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dose\u2013response toxicity and locomotor effects of Mucuna pruriens-based phytotherapeutic combinations in pesticide-exposed Drosophila melanogaster"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Raphael","family":"Mwezi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Directorate of Pesticides Management, Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticide Authority (TPHPA)","place":["Arusha, Tanzania"]},{"name":"Department of Global Health and Biomedical Sciences, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology","place":["Arusha, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maulilio","family":"Kipanyula","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global Health and Biomedical Sciences, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology","place":["Arusha, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John \u2013 Mary","family":"Vianney","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global Health and Biomedical Sciences, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology","place":["Arusha, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Flora","family":"Stephano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM)","place":["Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"A Locomotor Assay Reveals Deficits in Heterozygous Parkinson \u2019 S Disease Model and Proprioceptive Mutants in Adult Drosophila","author":"Aggarwal","year":"2019"},{"key":"B2","first-page":"93","article-title":"Effects of the hydroethanolic extract of Mucuna pruriens (L.) 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