The plant M. pruriens, widely known as “velvet bean,” is a vigorous annual climbing legume originally from southern China and eastern India. M. pruriens is a popular Indian medicinal plant, which has long been used in traditional Ayurvedic Indian medicine, for diseases including parkinsonism. Due to the high concentrations of L-dopa (4–7%), Kauncha is a commercial source of this substance, used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The beans have also been employed as a powerful aphrodisiac in Ayurveda and have been used to treat nervous disorders and arthritis. The bean, if applied as a paste on scorpion stings, is thought to absorb the poison. Kauncha  has also been shown to be neuroprotective and has demonstrated analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity.