Physiological and Performance Effects on Rats Fed Detoxified Mucuna pruriens

L-Dopa (3, 4 dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine), a toxic compound in Mucuna pruriens, causes reduced feed intake, anorexia, diarrhea, vomiting, skin lesions and potential mortality when consumed by humans and monogastric livestock. Processing the bean can reduce L-Dopa in Mucuna beans to safe levels (< 0.4%), but few studies have examined the effects of feeding detoxified Mucuna to monogastrics. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of feeding detoxified Mucuna bean on the performance, behavior, and health of rats. Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to five treatments (n=12). Dietary treatments consisted of a commercial rat chow (CON) or diets in which 10% of a customized rat chow was replaced with either undetoxified Mucuna (MUC), or Mucuna detoxified by acetic acid extraction (pH 3), sodium hydroxide extraction (pH 11), or ensiling for 28 days (SIL). During the 14-day trial, behavior, physiological development, and signs of clinical pathology were evaluated. Necropsy revealed that MUC caused splenomegaly and monocytosis, and reduced phosphorus concentrations relative to CON. These effects were not observed in rats fed detoxified diets, which alkaline phosphatase concentrations 11-17% greater than those of MUC, but similar to those of CON. No abnormalities in behavior, performance, or physiology were observed in any of the rats on the detoxified diets. Compared to those fed CON, rats fed Mucunabased diets had similar feed intake, weight gain, and behavioral results in the open field. It can be concluded that at the 10% level of dietary inclusion, there were fewer measurable adverse effects due to feeding the detoxified Mucuna bean compared to untreated Mucuna bean.