{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:37:57Z","timestamp":1791999477209,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,22]],"date-time":"2018-08-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1534896000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mucuna pruriens (Mucuna) has been prescribed in Ayurveda for various brain ailments including \u2018kampavata\u2019 (tremors) or Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD). While Mucuna is a well-known natural source of levodopa (L-dopa), published studies suggest that other bioactive compounds may also be responsible for its anti-PD effects. To investigate this hypothesis, an L-dopa reduced (&lt;0.1%) M. pruriens seeds extract (MPE) was prepared and evaluated for its anti-PD effects in cellular (murine BV-2 microglia and human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells), Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster models. In BV-2 cells, MPE (12.5\u201350 \u03bcg\/mL) reduced hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity (15.7\u221218.6%), decreased reactive oxygen species production (29.1\u221261.6%), and lowered lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide species release by 8.9\u201360%. MPE (12.5\u221250 \u03bcg\/mL) mitigated SH-SY5Y cell apoptosis by 6.9\u221240.0% in a non-contact co-culture assay with cell-free supernatants from LPS-treated BV-2 cells. MPE (12.5\u221250 \u03bcg\/mL) reduced 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced cell death of SH-SY5Y cells by 11.85\u201338.5%. Furthermore, MPE (12.5\u221250 \u03bcg\/mL) increased median (25%) and maximum survival (47.8%) of C. elegans exposed to the dopaminergic neurotoxin, methyl-4-phenylpyridinium. MPE (40 \u03bcg\/mL) ameliorated dopaminergic neurotoxin (6-OHDA and rotenone) induced precipitation of innate negative geotaxis behavior of D. melanogaster by 35.3 and 32.8%, respectively. Therefore, MPE contains bioactive compounds, beyond L-dopa, which may impart neuroprotective effects against PD.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu10091139","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,22]],"date-time":"2018-08-22T03:42:37Z","timestamp":1534909357000},"page":"1139","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":68,"title":["Levodopa-Reduced Mucuna pruriens Seed Extract Shows Neuroprotective Effects against Parkinson\u2019s Disease in Murine Microglia and Human Neuroblastoma Cells, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9161-3202","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shelby L.","family":"Johnson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Wuyi University; International Healthcare Innovation Institute (Jiangmen), Jiangmen 529020, China"},{"name":"Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"},{"name":"George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hyun Y.","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Edison Biotechnology Institute, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA"},{"name":"School of Applied Health Sciences and Wellness, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1925-0790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicholas A.","family":"DaSilva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"},{"name":"George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dhiraj A.","family":"Vattem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Edison Biotechnology Institute, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA"},{"name":"School of Applied Health Sciences and Wellness, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7565-6889","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hang","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Wuyi University; International Healthcare Innovation Institute (Jiangmen), Jiangmen 529020, China"},{"name":"Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"},{"name":"George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Navindra P.","family":"Seeram","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"},{"name":"George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"635","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopha.2016.11.074","article-title":"Neuroprotective mechanisms of plant extracts against MPTP induced neurotoxicity: Future applications in Parkinson\u2019s disease","volume":"85","author":"Abushouk","year":"2017","journal-title":"Biomed. 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