First of all, let me make it clear that I am talking about the ground bean powder, not any standardized tablet, capsule, etc. Any of the latter is just ldopa and, if that is the intent, then ol c/s is right - go with the "real" stuff.
However, mucuna is more than that. It contains dozens of compounds, some of them quite interesting. As ol c/s pointed out, it has no carbidopa and yet its ldopa makes its way in. It is interesting enough that about six years ago it was patented by a group of the top neurologists in the world including the most-published in the US.
For most of us it would be very difficult to separate mucuna data from all the other things. And BTW, the small amount of published research used doses as high as 30 grams - far too high. Five grams is much better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ol'cs
that a molecule of l-dopa is the same as any other molecule of l-dopa whether it was extracted from a plant or made in a flask. Often, natural extracts can contain impurites that may or may not give you undesired side effects. The chemically pure substance made via synthesis, is actually better because it's checked by the FDA for quality before it is allowed to be marketed, also the bean extract has no carbidopa in it so more of the l-dopa content is metabolized (decarboxylated) to dopamine (that doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier, so it is wasted) before it reaches the brain. When you have high blood levels of dopamine outside the brain, then the likelihood of side effects (on the heart mostly, but dopamine in the peripheral nervous system can be responsible for dyskinesias).
Like rev pointed out, we are ALL DIFFERENT in our ability to gain symptomatic relief from l-dopa. This is due to many factors, some of which are still unknown.
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