Amsterdam. A study conducted by experts at the Centre for Parkinson’s in Milan confirm that Mucuna pruriens, a legume, in the Fabaceae family and normally used as fertiliser in poorer countries in the South. It contains levodopa, the most advanced treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The researchers, led by Gianna Pezzoli, director of the Centre for Parkinson’s in Milan and president of the Grigioni Foundation established for the cure and research of the disease, have initiated a study in 2012 now published in the “Journal of Neurological Sciences” confirming this legume’s efficiency in the treatment of Parkinson’s, in parts of the world where levodopa is not available and therefore expensive. (9colonne)