Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens), of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family. Annual twining climber with trifoliate leaves and pendulous pods; native range: Tropical India, Africa and Southeast Asia, in scrub and hedgerows. Globally recognized as kapikacchu / atmagupta in Sanskrit, kaunch / kevanch in Hindi, konch / habb-ul-qilqil in Arabic, and velvet bean, cowhage, cowitch in English. The part used is seed (chiefly); also root and the pod-hairs. Grey-brown, kidney-shaped seeds; the curved pods clothed in bristly orange hairs that sting and itch on the least touch.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
VELVET BEAN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Velvet bean
- Scientific name
- Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Form
- Part used
- seed (chiefly); also root and the pod-hairs
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet (madhura) · bitter (tikta)
- Western
- sweet · bland
- Unani
- sweet
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Western
- warm
- Unani
- hot (& moist, the seed — 2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- nerves · nervous system
- Unani
- nerves · kidneys
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- vata-hara, vrishya / vajikarana (aphrodisiac), balya (strengthening), brimhana (nourishing), used in kampavata (tremor)
- Western
- nervine and aphrodisiac tonic; the seed a natural source of L-dopa for paralysis agitans; the pod-hairs a mechanical anthelmintic (vermifuge)
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), muqawwi-e-asab (nerve tonic), muqawwi-e-badan (general restorative)
Cautions
Contraindications: high pitta and heat states; the fresh pods' hairs violently itch and inflame the skin
Toxicity: raw hairs cause intense itching and dermatitis; the seed's L-dopa may bring nausea and dyskinesia in excess
Interactions
- Western
- MAO inhibitors: L-dopa with an MAOI risks hypertensive crisis · antihypertensives: additive blood-pressure lowering from levodopa · antidiabetic agents: additive glucose lowering
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