Logo

Medicinal plants have been used for centuries before the advent of orthodox medicine. Leaves, flowers, stems, roots, seeds, fruit, and bark can all be constituents of herbal medicines. The medicinal values of these plants lie in their component phytochemicals, which produce definite physiological actions on the human body.

Mucuna utilis is a native of South Asia and Malaysia, but presently it is widely grown throughout the tropics. It is a vigorously growing and twining annual plant and has a number of species and hybrids. The trailing vines and leaves are grown mostly for green manuring or temporary pasture. M. utilis, is a legume with a low human preference for food, but has a high potential as an energy and protein source in livestock feed. It is comparable to soybean in terms of amino acids and mineral profile. However, the use of M. utilis (seeds) as a source of protein for monogastrics is limited by the presence of antinutritional factor like trypsin inhibitors, haemagglutinins, phytic acid, hydrocyanic acid and tannins. M. utilis is one of the popular medicinal plants of India and it is a constituent of more than 200 indigenous drug formulations. All parts of M. utilis plant are known to have high medicinal value and there is heavy demand of Mucuna in India drug markets.