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Mucuna Pruriens
Mucuna Pruriens has been used traditionally as an Ayurvedic herb for centuries and as a source for the treatment of neurological disorders (.Katzenschlager et al., 2004). The field of research on this compound is a burgeoning topic in the medical world. Mucuna pruriens’ most notable constituent levodopa (L-Dopa), is the precursor for dopamine, a compound involved in many physiological processes in the body. Dopamine is also believed to have profound effects on libido.
One possible effect of increased levels of dopamine that has been scarcely studied is the change in activity that this product could have on human growth hormone. In an animal study, dopamine was found to act as a secretagogue for growth hormone, which suggests that growth hormone secretion levels could be increased by increased dopaminergic levels (Kitajima et al., 1989). Another study claims that dopamine inhibits hypothalamic somatostatin secretion, which then allows for a greater stimulatory effect of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) (Vance et al., 1987). Findings suggest that an increase in dopamine levels not only stimulate the release of growth hormone releasing factor but also enhance its effect on the anterior pituitary gland’s release of growth hormone. The importance of these findings is quite substantial. Growth hormone is known to build muscle mass as well as boost immune system function. The effects of Mucuna pruriens on the levels of GH require further study but the existing research suggest that Mucuna pruriens hold real promise for building muscle. Certainly Mucuna pruriens could be a valued supplement to anyone concerned with muscle, sexual, or neurological health.
References
Delbarrio A.S., Martinez J. A., Larralde J. (1993). Homoeorhetic actions on tissue protein metabolism after the administration of rat growth hormone to normal rats. Endocrine Res. 19(2&3): 163-173.
Katzenschlager R., Evans A., Manson A., Patsalos P., Ratnaraj N., Watt H., Timmermann L., Van der Giessen, Lees A. (2004) Mucuna pruriens in Parkinson’s disease: a double blind clinical and Pharmacological study. Jour of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 75:1672-1677.
Kitajima N., Chiharaq K., Abe H., Okimura Y., Fuji Y., Sato M., Shakutsui S., Watanabe M., Fujita T. Effects of dopamine on immunoreactive growth hormone-releasing factor and somatostatin secretion from rat hypothalamic slices perfused in vitro. Endocrinology. 124:69-76.
Vance M., Kaiser D.,Frohman L., Rivier J., Vale W., Thorner M. Role of dopamine in the regulation of growth hormone secretion: dopamine and the bromocriptine augment growth hormone (GH)-releasinf hormone-stimulate GH secretion in normal man. Journ of Clin Endocrin & Metab. 64:1136-1141.
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