Steinmetz:Mucuna

Mucuna pruriens

Also known as (or relevant to) Mucuna pruriens Dolichos pruriens Siliqua hirsuta Family Legurminosae English Names Cowhage Couhage Cow-Itch Hirsuta Natural Habitat East- and West Indies Africa and other tropical countries China Part(s) Used Fructus Stizolobii = Setae Mucunae (pods and seeds)

Constituent(s) tannin resin fat manganese Action vermifuge (especially for the expulsion of Ascaris lumbricoides and Ascaris vermicularis which it effects by reason of its mechanical structure) aphrodisiac nervine visceral resolvent; rubefacient (the pods are covered with stiff hairs which produce an intense irritation of the skin) its golden-brown pods when young and tender are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Mucuna urens

Also known as (or relevant to) Mucuna urens Family Leguminosae English Names False Calabar bean Natural Habitat West Africa tropical America Part(s) Used Semen Cali

Constituent(s) eserine Action used as substitute for Fabae Calabaricae