Abstract

Isolation and estimation of L-Dopa in two species of Mucuna: Mucuna pruriens and Mucuna prurita

Author(s): S.Raghavendra, V.Kumar, M.H.Moinuddin Khan, C.K.Ramesh

Mucuna pruriens andMucuna prurita belong to the family Papillonaceae. The seeds and leaves of these plants contain large amount of L-Dopa. LDopa[ L,3,4- Dihydroxy phenylalanine] is one of the most widely used drugs in the treatment of ParkinsonÂ’s disease. The present paper deals with the simple method for the isolation and quantitative concentration of L-Dopa in leaf, stem, callus and seeds of twoMucuna species. Qualitative analysis of L-Dopa was carried out by TLCand quantitative determination was done spectrophotometrically. The comparative analysis between two species reveal that L-Dopa concentrations are considerably higher in Mucuna prurita compared to Mucuna pruriens in all tissue types and seeds.