Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second leading neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. (MP) is a plant that contains Levodopa (L-DOPA) and has been known to improve the symptoms of PD. In this preliminary study, we investigated the anti-parkinsonian potential of MP to compare the effects of L-DOPA. We first developed an in vivo model of the PD in C57BL/6 male mice using rotenone. A total of twelve mice were used for this experiment. Nine mice were injected with rotenone (28 mg/kg) daily for 28 days. The mice experiments were performed to validate the effectiveness of MP to treat PD. Synthetic L-DOPA in a ratio of 1:20 with MP was used as MP contains 5% L-DOPA by weight in it. MP and L-DOPA were injected for 19 days on a daily basis. Cognitive function was evaluated using beam balance and olfactory tests. Serum analysis was performed using serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis test. IL-12, IL-6, and TGF-$\beta$ 1 were evaluated to validate the PD inducement and treatment. The levels of IL-12, IL-6, and TGF-$\beta$1 (p < 0.0001) in the PD mice group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The PD mice also showed higher latencies in beam balance and olfactory tests (p < 0.0001) compared to the control group. Both MP and L-DOPA-treated groups showed alleviation in latencies in beam balance and olfactory tests and decreased neuroinflammation in ELISA analysis (p < 0.001). The results treated by MP and L-DOPA showed insignificant differences in their values (p > 0.05). This proved that the MP and L-DOPA had similar effects in improving the symptoms of PD when used in the ratio of 1:20. Furthermore, both MP and L-DOPA reduced the level of IL-6 and TGF-$\beta 1$ in this study. It may be inferred that a reduction in the level of IL-6 and TGF-$\beta 1$ eventually leads to a reduction in the Th17 cells. The pathogenic Th17 is thought to be present in virtually all chronic inflammatory disorders. This can be an interesting area of research in further understanding the immunological effect of MP in ameliorating PD symptoms.

Carbon nanotube–polymethyl siloxane (CNT-PDMS) composite transducers generate shock waves using optoacoustic technology. A thin layer of thermally conductive CNT and elastomeric polymer, PDMS, is applied on the concave surface of transparent polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) to convert laser energy to acoustic energy using the thermoelastic effect of the composite transducer. The efficient conversion of laser energy requires an optimum utilization of the different properties of composite transducers. Among these properties, the diameter of composite transducers is a significant parameter. To practically verify and understand the effect of the diameter of composite transducers on the properties of shock waves, CNT-PDMS composite transducers with different diameters and focal lengths were constructed. Increases in the diameter of the composite transducer and input laser energy resulted in increased peak pressures of the shock waves. The maximum positive and negative pressures of the shock waves generated were 53 MPa and −25 MPa, respectively. This practically demonstrates that high peak amplitudes of shock waves can be achieved using larger transducers, which are suitable for practical applications in transcranial studies.