[the fact that you are taking large amounts of mucana which contains L-DOPA makes me wonder why you just don't buy mucana in bulk, toast it 8 minutes at 125F and try that?[/QUOTE]

What's the reason for toasting it?

Jon

What's the reason for toasting it?

Jon[/QUOTE]

i read somewhere that toasting is recommended to inactivate enzymes that can make the flour go rancid, just like toasted wheat germ. and tastes better, less raw bean flavor.
can't find the article that directly explains why roasting is recommended. this article suggests roasting doesn't decrease L-D0PA but inactivates potentially harmful enzymes.
http://www.academia.edu/3033171/Effe...a_pruriens_L._

have tried mucana raw and roasted, a tablespoon on oatmeal, no idea if that was enough, neither really helped and honestly, i'm very reluctant to buy anything grown on a farm in india or central/south america.

I am also reluctant to take any pharmaceuticals from drug companies if there's a better alternative or I can avoid it.

I trust myself and nature...

I do not trust profit seeking drug companies and doctors who push said drugs for the wrong reason or gain.

[i read somewhere that toasting is recommended to inactivate enzymes that can make the flour go rancid, just like toasted wheat germ. and tastes better, less raw bean flavor.
can't find the article that directly explains why roasting is recommended. this article suggests roasting doesn't decrease L-D0PA but inactivates potentially harmful enzymes.
http://www.academia.edu/3033171/Effe...a_pruriens_L._

have tried mucana raw and roasted, a tablespoon on oatmeal, no idea if that was enough, neither really helped and honestly, i'm very reluctant to buy anything grown on a farm in india or central/south america.[/QUOTE]

I understand your reservations. The brand I will try (toasted or plain) is imported by Starwest Botanicals and has USDA Organic and QAI Certified Organic emblems on it. I figure it's the best I could do without picking the bean myself. I wonder if it's ever been cultivated in the U.S. Is this a project for Aunt Bean and her fava farm?

Jon

imho mucaa and the hinz protocol are inferior alternatives to carbidopa/levodopa until there is verifiable proof otherwise. i haven't seen any.

how quickly we forget that levodopa was isolated from mucana and it wasn't a drug company but a few dedicated researchers who figured out how to administer it to pd'ers. they were looking to alleviate suffering, not get rich. nature can harm you just as fast as a synthetic drug, just ask socrates.

if there was a lot of money to be made manufacturing carbidopa/levodopa there would be more than just a few generic manufacturers. and i doubt there are drug reps calling on neuros encouraging them to write rx's for C/L.
i can't go for more than a few hrs without C/L and i'd rather depend on a drug company manufacturing it to a very high standard from readily available raw materials than depend on a group of farmers producing mucana and having their crop wiped out or contaminated and/spoiled. plus having to consume grams of it daily, and have to carry it around, if i was in a 3rd world country i'd feel different but i'm not.
you can make the opposite argument, that it's better to have lots of small mucana farmers than a few drug companies mfg'ing C/L, especially if some catastrophe disrupted the C/L supply chain. i try to keep a 3month supply of C/L just in case.

I understand your reservations. The brand I will try (toasted or plain) is imported by Starwest Botanicals and has USDA Organic and QAI Certified Organic emblems on it. I figure it's the best I could do without picking the bean myself. I wonder if it's ever been cultivated in the U.S. Is this a project for Aunt Bean and her fava farm?

Jon[/QUOTE]

have you tried mucana? if so, how's it working and if i may ask, when were you diagnosed, have you tried C/L and what are your symptoms? sorry to be so nosy but i take discussions implying mucana is a better drug than C/L or is a useful adjunct to C/L very seriously.

btw, organic doesn't mean they irrigated with perfectly clean water or the soil wasn't somehow contaminated with heavy metals from a coal power plant next door. i'd rather eat something grown hydroponically in a sterile environment using all chemical fertilizer than something grown organically in china or india. just my opinion. there was a recent salmonella outbreak from organically grown spinach in colorado or california. cuz the plant roots can't absorb proteins to get their nitrogen, the protein in the organic fertilizer has to break down into ammonia or nitrate to be absorbed, same with all the other plant nutrients. unless it's a legume that can get NH3 from a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia bacteria.

There are many studies showing that Mucuna is Superior to Sinemet. Including a huge study out this year showing. quicker on time. lasts longer, Reaches higher plasma levels, Carbidopa not needed to cross BBB, Safer with less side effects and Diskeneisia (sp). If I remember correctly. There ARE drug reps calling and pushing there drugs on doctors for cash, trips and other insentives. BIG MONEY!

A Water Extract of Mucuna pruriens Provides Long-Term Amelioration of Parkinsonism with Reduced Risk for Dyskinesias https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...0/?tool=pubmed

you have any links to human studies that have been replicated rather than a rat study? a study using raw mucana rather than a water extract?

I've found this debate very interesting, although I'm not very familiar with the use of mucana. Badboy, are any of the many studies you refer to where mucuna was shown to be superior to sinemet controlled clinical research on humans? If so, I would be very interested in reading them. Can you please give some links to these studies. Thank you.