Sinemet and mucuna pruriens

[bmakla54]

How much mucuna pruriens equals 1 sinemet

[WinnieThePoo]

Ah. It depends on lots of things, but the usual rule of thumb is that the carbidopa in Sinemet means that the levadopa required for the same therapeutic effect is 20% of the amount needed without carbidopa.

So for one 25/100 Sinemet you would need 500 mg of levadopa in macuna.

If your macuna brand is 40% levadopa you need 1250mg macuna

[MBAnderson in reply to WinnieThePoo]

Richard,

I don't understand your answer. If one, 25/100 Sinemet has 100 mg of levodopa, why would you need 500 mg of levodopa in Mucuna? Do you mean one would need 500 mg of Mucuna?

Marc

[WinnieThePoo in reply to MBAnderson]

Forget for a minute where the levadopa comes from. If you add carbidopa, then you get the same therapeutic effect from 100mg of levadopa, as you get from 500mg of levadopa neat - without Carbidopa. So you need 5 times as much levadopa if you are not using Carbidopa

You are correct to point out that is a generalisation, and different people will respond differently. But it is the widely accepted convention.

Also, it is possible, that other things in Macuna have a therapeutic effect. (Personally, I don't think so, or rather I think it is purely a psychological thing resulting from people believing natural is different)

But focussed just on levadopa - wherever it comes from - you can reduce the dose by 80% , down from 500 to 100, if you add Carbidopa

So, if I look at the "Now" Mucuna Dopa tablets on the desk in front of me, which claim to be 15% levadopa, and contain 400mg of mucuna in a capsule, if I want the equivalent levadopa to a Sinemet 25/100, then I need 500mg levadopa, which is 8.3 capsules.

In terms of levadopa availability in the brain, 8.3 400mg capsules of Mucuna Dopa 15% is the equivalent of one Sinemet 25/100

[Jjm0zx in reply to WinnieThePoo]

Thanks for explanation, clear and straight forward.

[MBAnderson]

This is, perhaps, the most frequently asked question on this forum, so the best way to get informed is to put Mucuna in the search window because some discussions are more thorough than others.

Short answer; there is no equivalent because there are too many variables regarding the Mucuna.

[Seamus6 in reply to MBAnderson]

Agreed, at least Sinemet, for all it's faults, is consistent in Ldopa content (obv. within manufacturing tolerance)

[rideabike]

I use NutriVita brand, a very purified white powder of mucuna pruriens. 1/8 teaspoon is about the same as 25/100 Sinemet. I've tried both. Sinemet made me sick to the stomach and can't use it at all. Going even slightly over 1/8 tsp. of NutriVita (from the US) does the same thing...nausea and more. I've tried a tbsp. and more of whole MP powder and various other capsules but this brand is the easiest to measure. It lasts about 4 hours like clockwork. I don't know if it's available to you wherever you are. I'm in Canada and have to pay shipping and all but it's worth it. No taste to it as well.

[Erniediaz1018 in reply to rideabike]

Diddo exactly the same results for me

[bmak54]

Thanks

[pdpatient]

What's wrong with Sinemet?

[gginto]

pdpatient- Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think people want to go natural- including me!- however my neurologist advised against using Mucuna Dopa because it's not as accurate a dose as Levo Dopa- which is standardized.. I think he also said that Levo Dopa is basically a natural substance.. so I'm listening to him. There's info on the Web about adding extra natural products/vitamins etc.. to enhance the meds.. But I WISH there was an "all natural" approach to this PD .. I hope the powers that be can get a lid on this disease!

[Erniediaz1018 in reply to gginto]

Have you tried B1?