I am doing research for Parkinsons Disease and some of the papers read mention Ldopa content in Jack Beans. We are close to zone 6 now for winter temperatures, I have grown Mucuna Puriens and fava beans for ldopa. A friend in Arkansas mentioned Jack Beans to me today for Parkinsons, Is it possible to get seeds to try for this plant?
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Hi,
Thank you for the work you do in researching options for those living with Parkinson’s Disease. I also found some literature stating values of L-Dopa in jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) of the following:
- 1.7 g/100 g or 1.7% raw beans (Doss et al., 2011)
- 2.46% (Rajaram & Janardhanan, 1992)
The Canavalias have a very long growing season (high demand for growing degree days) which may limit their potential in most temperate climates. You could try it though! ECHO does not distribute bulk seed. @Graham_Knight do you know where seeds might be available in the US in bulk?
References
Doss, A., Pugalenthi, M., Vadivel, V. G., Subhashini, G. and Anitha Subash, R. 2011. Effects of processing technique on the nutritional composition and antinutrients content of under –utilized food legume Canavalia ensiformis L.DC. International Food Research Journal 18(3): 965-970.
Rajaram, N., & Janardhanan, K. (1992). Nutritional and chemical evaluation of raw seeds of Canavalia gladiata (Jacq) DC. and C. ensiformis DC: the under utilized food and fodder crops in India. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 42 , 329-336.
Dear Stacy,
If you search in Google for say jack beans supply north america beans supply #
you will find a number of suppliers
Graham
Can I get just a few beans from echo of canavalia ensiformis to see if they will grow here? It would be bad to plant bulk seed without knowing if they will survive anyway. Seems like I was allowed maybe 10 packets to experiment with for our area. Let me know if I am still eligible for these. Thanks so much
Sandra Honeycutt
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Hi Sandra,
I just looked up your ECHOcommunity account and yes, you have access to the Global Seed Bank and are eligible for the annual 10 free variety trial packets of seed. To apply for this year’s promotional code, please fill out this form.
If you have any questions, please email our ECHO Global Seed Bank staff at seeds@echocommunity.org.
Please note, you can only order a maximum of two packets of any one variety of seed. Each packet contains enough seed of the crop to roughly plant 1 30 ft (~10 m) row of the crop.
Stacy
Thank you Stacy. I have filled out the form and submitted it this morning. I am very grateful. Sandra Honeycutt