Preliminary evidence. Direction: No effect.
D Preliminary
Rubric condition met: No controlled human mood outcome data for Mucuna; animal studies only
A 2024 review of mood-related research on Mucuna drew its evidence from animal models and said clinical trials are needed. Parkinson's disease trials scored non-motor symptoms against active levodopa, not placebo, in a clinical population, so they do not test mood in healthy adults. As of November 11, 2026 we found no randomized trials of Mucuna on mood in healthy adults (PubMed and Europe PMC searches, 2026-11-11).
| Study | Year | Design | Participants | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mata-Bermudez 2024 | 2024 | narrative review of animal studies | not recorded | result not recorded |
| Cilia 2026 | 2026 | RCT | 32 | result not recorded |
Mata-Bermudez A, Diaz-Ruiz A, Silva-García LR. Mucuna pruriens, a Possible Treatment for Depressive Disorders Neurol Int, 2024. PMID 39585071
Cilia R, Cham M, Obese V. Mucuna pruriens in untreated Parkinson's disease in sub-Saharan Africa: A 12-month, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial J Parkinsons Dis, 2026. PMID 41269916
Search (): (mucuna[tiab] OR "velvet bean"[tiab]) AND (depress*[tiab] OR mood[tiab] OR motivation[tiab] OR anhedonia[tiab]) AND (trial[tiab] OR randomized[tiab] OR placebo[tiab])
