Mucuna

Source

Mucuna pruriens, also known as Velvet bean,  is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia and widely naturalized and cultivated. Its English common names include monkey tamarind, velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean

Use

The plant and its extracts have been long used in tribal communities as a toxin antagonist for various snakebites. It has long been used in traditional Indian medicine in an attempt to treat diseases including Parkinson’s disease, because of it’s the high content of L-dopa (a hormone, like dopamine, that is significant in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease)