AbstractSome nutritional and anti‐nutritional characteristics of mucuna (Mucuna utilis (Wight) Burck) bean seeds were studied. The mature seeds contained 264 g crude protein, 63 g crude fibre, 41 g crude fat, 37 g ash and 595 g carbohydrates kg−1 DM. The essential amino acid profile compared well with the FAO/WHO scoring pattern except for a deficiency of sulphur‐containing amino acids. Mineral composition was similar to those reported for most tropical grain legumes.Raw mucuna seed samples contained moderately high levels of anti‐tryptic activity (2170 trypsin units inhibited g−1 DM), but this was completely destroyed by cooking. The other anti‐nutritional factors (phytate, cyanide and tannins) are probably of little nutritional significance provided that the beans are properly processed. The in‐vitro protein digestibility of raw and cooked beans were 71·5 and 80·3 %, respectively. In view of the high L‐DOPA contents reported in some mucuna cultivars, overconsumption of mucuna beans should be viewed with some caution until suitable processing methods are developed.