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Lepidium meyenii Walpers *

Lepidium peruvianum Chacón *

  

1. CLASIFICATION

Superdivision : Spermatophyta – Seed plants 

Division: Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons)

Subclass : Dilleniidae

Order: Capparales

Family : Cruciferae = Brassicaceae (Crucifer or Mustard Family)

Tribe : Lepidieae

Section : Monoploca

Genus : Lepidium L. – pepperweed
Species: Lepidium meyenii  described by Gerhard Walpers in Nov. Act. Nat. Leopold. Carol. 19, Suppl. 1 (1843) 249.

 

* Observation : South American species Lepidium meyenii Walp. was first described by Gerhard Walpers in 1843. Although there are extensive taxonomic treatments of the Lepidium species of Australia (Hewson 1982) and North America (Al-Shehbaz 1986a, 1986b) as well as a general monograph on the genus (Thellung 1906), information is scarce on the species endemic to South America, and in particular about the Andean species of Lepidium, which belong mostly to the sections Dileptium and Monoploca (Thellung 1906). Hence, taxonomy of Andean Lepidium species is not definitive and is susceptible to change.

Additionally, the original collections of Lepidium meyenii Walp. were done outside the present range of distribution of cultivated Lepidium, namely Puno in Peru. Although it is believed that in Inca times Lepidium sp. was cultivated in Puno, there is no evidence of this crop being cultivated there at the present time.

Later, other accessions collected in Bolivia and Argentina were also classified as Lepidium meyenii Walp. After superficial morphological inspection, however, no resemblance to cultivated Andean Lepidium can be seen in these early herbarium specimens, which in many cases are not in optimal conditions.

Recently, Chacón de Popovici (1990), suggested that the cultivated ‘maca’ of today, –the Andean cultivated species of Lepidium– is not Lepidium meyenii Walp. but a newer species. Hence, she proposed to create the name Lepidium peruvianum Chacón sp. nov., based on comparative studies of the botanical characteristics, and in particular, on the histochemical observations of the hypocotyl, which is the main distinguishing feature of this new species, and on morphological observations and comparative analysis of herbarium specimens in Germany and the United States of America and various specimens collected since 1960 in the district of San Juan de la Jarpa, in Huancayo province.

Taking all of these into account, the proposal of the new name for the cultivated species seems reasonable, although further taxonomic research is required to solve this problem. While most maca sold in commerce today still refers to the Lepidium meyenii Walp. name, economic botanists believe most is Lepidium peruvianum Chacón. Until now, there is no consensus among the authorities; while some of them agree with Chacón, others consider Lepidium peruvianum Chacón just a synonym of the species Lepidium meyenii Walp.

 

Common Names : “maca”, “Peruvian ginseng”, “pepper grass”, “pepper weed”, “mace”. Castilian/Spanish: Peru “maca”, “maka”. Quechua: “maca”, “maca-maca”, “maka”. Others: "maino", "maka", "ayak chichira", "ayak willku".

 

2. DESCRIPTION

Habit : Lepidium meyenii Walp. is an herbaceous, low-growing, rosette-like plant of frilly leaves with an enlarged tuberous, fleshy underground organ formed by the taproot and the lower part of the hypocotyl (Leon 1964; Tello et al. 1992). These parts of the plant swell during growth, forming a storage organ resembling a turnip.

Lepidium meyenii Walp. is an annual, biennial or perennial plant (authorities do not agree), growing 10 cm to 20 cm in height. Its main stem grows underground, and is 3 cm to 5 cm in diameter at the most wide part and 15 cm in circumference. The secondary stems are decumbent.

Some authorities consider Lepidium meyenii Walp. an annual crop completing its life cycle within a year when climatic conditions are favourable (Quirós et al. 1996). However, often Lepidium meyenii Walp. is considered a biennial plant (Tello et al. 1992) because it has a vegetative cycle followed by a reproductive phase. Furthermore, in the Junín area Lepidium meyenii Walp. is grown as a biennial by holding the hypocotyl/root underground during the dry season. However, during favourable years, when there is enough moisture in the soil and an absence of killing frosts, plants left in the field complete their life cycle within a year. The vegetative phase includes the expansion and growth of the hypocotyl/root and root. These organs are fully enlarged approximately 7 months after planting. At this time the plants initiate their reproductive phase.

The root is succulent and tuberous, although it is not a tuber nor a bulb. It presents numerous lateral roots that are very thin and white-colored, and extend up to 15 cm long. Actually, the main stem is very reduced, almost imperceptible, and the tuberous part is the fusion of the hypocotyl and the upper part of the main root.

This structure, commonly named ‘tuber’, ‘root’, ‘hypocotyl’, ‘fruit’, or simply ‘maca’ is the economic product of Lepidium meyenii Walp. It is hard in consistency and can occur in a variety of colors: yellow, cream, white, reddish, red, light-lead grey, lead grey, black, yellow/purple, white/purple and purple. This is the edible part of the plant and varies between 2 cm and 5 cm in size.

During flowering, at the base of the plant, radially and under the leaves, generative shoots will rapidly grow, producing secondary branches. These will generate most of the seed of the plant. Approximately 20 primary generative branches are produced per plant, and each of these will produce approximately 13 secondary branches (Aliaga-Cárdenas 1995).

Leaves : The foliage forms a mat, growing in close contact with the ground. The leaves are rosulate, pinnatipartite and are continuously renewed from the centre of the rosette. They are also caulescent, reduced, alternate, and separate. They are fairly polymorphic, according to the position they occupy on the branches or secondary stems. The basal leaves are 5 cm in length, petiolated and bipinnatifid. The central leaves are 3 cm in length and are bipinnatifid. The apical leaves are slightly divided, and 1 cm to 2 cm in length. According to some authorities, the leaves exhibit dimorphism, being larger in the vegetative phase and reduced in the reproductive cycle (Tello et al. 1992).

Flowers : Inconspicuous and arranged in axillary racemes. Often the first floral buds will appear in a small cluster at the centre of the rosette, or as solitary flowers in some of the leaf axils, announcing the initiation of the generative shoots, the main reproductive structures. Only a few of the first flowers will produce fruit. The later flowers are disposed in a simple cluster or raceme. The generative branches will produce profuse flowering racemes which are pauciflorous, short, apical and axillary. There are also axillary flowers that do not form cluster.

The flower is tiny, complete and hypogyne. They have four erect, concave sepals, and four small white petals. The ovary is oval and bicarpelar with a short style, which develops into a dehiscent silicule of two locules, carrying one seed per locule. Only two stamens, or seldom three, with well-developed anthers are present in the flowers. A variable number of rudimentary stamens consisting only of filaments is also present.

The normal number of functional stamens in the family Brassicaceae is six, four larger than the other two. However, androeceum variation reflected in number of complete stamens is a common feature of the genus Lepidium (Thellung 1906). Small nectaries at the base of the stamens are also present. It is unknown, however, whether these are functional.

Aliaga-Cárdenas (1995) found that Lepidium meyenii Walp. is primarily an autogamous species. Pollination is initiated 4-5 days after the flower bud is first visible to the naked eye, and continues for another 3 days. The anthers and petals wither for the next 2 days while the ovary starts to enlarge initiating fruit development. Part of the anthesis takes place while the flower is still closed, thus indicating that the Lepidium meyenii Walp. flowers are partially cleistogamous. Further evidence of autogamy is provided by spontaneous fruit-setting of flowering plants in growth chambers, where insects were excluded (Quirós et al. 1996). In Junín, the native area of Lepidium meyenii Walp. production, no insect pollinators working the flowers were observed. Only sporadic visitation by two or three species of Dipterae which landed in the leaves and flowers has been seen.

In the field at Davis, California, only a few syrphid flies were observed visiting the foliage and seldom the flowers. Plants grown from different accessions are morphologically alike, with a few exceptions. All these observations suggest that Lepidium meyenii Walp. reproduces predominantly by self-pollination.

Flowering lasts for three months.

Each secondary branch will yield racemes with 50-70 flowers each. Therefore, a primary branch will bear close to 1,000 flowers.

Most of the pollen collected from the flowers is fertile, as measured by pollen stainability. Consistent with other cruciferous species, pollen grains are trinucleated.

Fruit : Silicule (short silique). Fruits will set in most of the flowers throughout flowering time, maturing in approximately 5 weeks.

The fruit is dry, slightly marginated at the apex, from 3 mm to 5 mm long and 2.5 mm wide. It possesses two carinated valves, each containing only one seed in each cell. The fruit is longitudinally dehiscent, along the direction of the partition wall, which is membranous. When mature (that is, approximately 5 weeks after fecundation), the fruits will initiate dehiscence; then, the dry pericarp separates in 3 parts and the central, persistent part maintain the seeds linked until they are released.

During the long period of flowering, it is possible to observe both fruits and flowers in the generative branches.

Approximately 85% of the fruits will bear seeds. The seeds are small, ovoid, measuring 2 mm to 2.5 mm in length and reddish grey or tan to brown in color, and light in weight (Aliaga-Cárdenas 1995). Apparently seeds do not have dormancy, germinating in 5-7 days at 25°C and good moisture conditions. A single plant of Lepidium meyeniiWalp. produces approximately 14 g of seeds. One gram contains approximately 1,600 seeds.

Ploidy : This species is an octoploid with 2n=8x=64 chromosomes (Quirós et al. 1996), considering that the basic genomic number of Lepidieae is x=8. Its meiosis is normal, with the chromosomes associating predominantly as bivalents. This type of association indicates that Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a disomic polyploid. Polyploidy is a common event among the species in the tribe Lepidieae to which Lepidium meyeniiWalp. belongs (Darlington and Wylie 1945).

 

 

3. ORIGIN, DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY

Origin : South American plant, native to the Peruvian Central Andes (Cerro de Pasco, Junín, Tarma, Jauja, Concepción and Huancayo).

The Lepidium species cultivated by indigenous people of central Peru is a domesticated species that was probably cultivated for the first time in San Blas, Junín, between 1,300 and 2,000 years ago, but little is known about its origin (Matos 1978; Rea 1992).

Distribution : Lepidium meyenii Walp. is an Andean crop that occupies a very restricted area. Today, it is found only on the central sierra of Peru, in the suni and puna ecosystems (Bonnier 1986) of the departments of Junín and Cerro de Pasco, principally, at elevations above 3,500 m and often reaching 4,450 m in the central Andes of Peru (Leon 1964; Tello et al. 1992). The largest cultivated area is found around lake Junín at Huayre, Carhuamayo, Uco, Ondores, Junín, Ninacana and Vicco.There are a few reports of its cultivation in the department of Huancavelica.

In the past, it is believed that it was cultivated much more widely, covering from Junin to Puno. Out of Peruvian Central Andes, cultivation of Lepidium meyenii Walp. is very scarce. Although production of Lepidium meyenii Walp. is restricted primarily to the central Andes of Peru, it can be grown successfully in other parts of the world. Field experiments in Davis, California indicate that this crop can be grown during the winter in this area as an annual crop if irrigation is available throughout its whole life cycle. Some short-scale experimental cultivation has also been done in Japan and Germany.

It is believed that in the 16th and 17th centuries Lepidium meyenii Walp. had a wider range of cultivation than today. In addition to Junín and Cerro de Pasco, presumably, it also was grown in Cusco and in the Lake Titicaca watershed. Although it is believed that in Inca times Lepidium meyenii Walp. was cultivated in Puno, there is no evidence of this crop being cultivated there at the present time.

In 1994, less than 50 hectares were being dedicated to the production of Lepidium meyenii Walp. in Peru and presumably in the world (Tello et al 1992). However, the popularity of this crop is steadily increasing, not only in its area of production but also in large cities because of its putative medicinal properties. Hence, by 1999 over 1,200 hectares were under production due to rising demand in the U.S. and abroad.

There exist some Lepidium accessions collected out of the traditional area of cultivation, namely Bolivia and Argentina, and have also been classified as Lepidium meyenii Walp. After superficial morphological inspection, however, no resemblance to cultivated Lepidium can be seen in these early herbarium specimens, which in many cases are not in optimal shape. Therefore the species name change to Lepidium peruvianum Chacón sp. nov. seems justifiable, although further taxonomic research is required to solve this problem.

At least seven wild species of Lepidium, including the cultivated one, have been reported in Peru by Brako and Zarucchi (1993) from the departments of Ancash to Puno. In addition, other Andean species have been collected in Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina. Practically nothing is known about the origin of these species and even less about their possible relationship to Lepidium meyenii Walp. Although Lepidium meyenii Walp. is an octoploid, the Andean wild species of Lepidium surveyed so far include both tetraploid and octoploids.

In the departments of Cusco and Apurimac at 3,600 m to 3,950 m asl Lepidium bipinnatifidum, Lepidium chichicara and Lepidium kalenbornii have been found, but no cultivated Lepidium was detected in these regions.

Ecology : Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a biennial plant that propagates by sexual seeds —unlike many other tuberous plants— and develops in an inhospitable region of intense sunlight, violent winds, and below-freezing and dry weather in the puna agro-ecological zone or cold steppe between 4,000 m and 4,500 m above sea level, in poor and rocky sedimentary soils of limestone and dark clay, where low temperatures and strong winds limit other crops.

These specific environmental conditions limits its cultivation mostly to the puna agro-ecological zone of the central region of the Peruvian Andes, at altitudes between 4,000 m and 4,500 m.

Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a very resistant plant. It tolerates frosts —that is, lowering of temperature under 0º C— fairly well. Low temperature is a condition that characterizes the puna weather. In other latitudes, such as in Berlin, Germany, (lat. 52°N), where it was sown in 1990, Lepidium meyenii Walp. has failed to form hypocotyls/roots. This result appears to support the idea that Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a short-day plant.

The Lepidium meyenii Walp. is sown at the beginning of the rainy period (September-November), usually in the morning to avoid winds, as the sole crop or combined with strips of bitter potato. According to the peasants in the area, this combination protects the potato from insect attack, since Lepidium meyenii Walp.  contains repellent volatile substances.

It can be sown on freshly ploughed pasture land that has lain fallow (purun), or on ground under an annual rotation with another crop (kallpar) such as the bitter potato. Generally speaking, soil preparation is deficient and broadcast sowing is carried out without any fertilization or, at best, only a sheep manure dressing. The seeds are buried using branches or are left to be trod on by sheep.

Tillage is not usually carried out, except to make sure that the small plants are not trampled by animals. Often the plants are thinned out 2 months after sowing to obtain uniform and larger hypocotyls. The pastures lie fallow for as many as 10 years before Lepidium meyenii Walp. is again planted in the same plot. This is because Lepidium meyenii Walp. seems to exhaust the soil by extracting nitrogen and other nutrients (Tello et al. 1992). This probably occurs when the nutrients removed are not sufficiently replenished. Weeds, if present in the field, are removed by hand.

One kilogram of seed with 15 kg of soil is used for high-density planting or 1 kg of seed and 25 kg of soil for low density. Then sheep are released to the field to trample the seed. This will result in 700,000-400,000 plants/ha depending on the sowing density used.

Crop duration is 8 to 9 months. Harvesting begins in May or June. The yield is very variable: in fields where little care has been devoted to managing the crop, about 2 to 3 tons per hectare of edible fresh matter are obtained while, with appropriate row cultivation practices, fertilization and the prevention of pest attacks, it is possible to produce up to 15 to 16 tons of fresh edible matter per hectare (approximately 5 t/ha of dried hypocotyl/root).

The main pests and diseases, which are just a few, include a root borer called ‘gorgojo de los Andes’ ( Premotrypes spp.) and a leaf fungus causing mildew (Peronospora parasitica). Other fungal pathogens causing diseases present in the area are Fusarium graminium and Rhizoctonia solani (Tello et al. 1992; Aliaga-Cárdenas 1995).

The hypocotyls/roots are harvested from May to July when they are at their maximum size, about 5 cm in diameter (Leon 1964; Tello et al. 1992). At this time, most of the leaves in the plants are still growing, without showing signs of senescence. A local hand hoe called a cashu is used for digging the plants one by one. The curved blade of this tool avoids damage to the roots.

After harvesting, the whole plants are dried during the day under the sun for 10-15 days, and covered during the night to avoid rain and frost damage. The leaves are left on the plant during drying because the local farmers believe that this will result in sweeter roots. After drying, the leaves are removed and the hypocotyls/roots are taken to the market or stored in a cool, dark place until they are eaten.

Plants which produce the hypocotyl/root in the first year do not produce seed. The following practices are carried out to obtain seed: after selecting the biggest, soundly formed and suitably ripened hypocotyls, between 30 and 50 are placed in a hole which is 50 cm to 60 cm deep and of the same radius and which is covered with damp earth. The plantlets take 25 to 30 days to grow. To transfer them, a seed bed is prepared with soft earth and fertilized with farmyard manure. Care must be taken to ensure that there is adequate humidity for the vigorous development of the plants, which will produce seeds within six to seven months after transplanting.

Lepidium meyenii Walp. has one of the highest frost tolerances among other native cultivated plants, since it is able to grow in the puna where only alpine grasses and bitter potatoes thrive (Bonnier 1986). The natural habitat of highland Peru where Lepidium meyenii Walp. is grown has an average minimum temperature of -1.5o C and an average maximum of 12°C (Tello et al. 1992). Frost is frequent and temperatures can get as low as -10°C. The relative humidity is high, with an average of 70%. The natural soil in the Lepidium meyenii Walp. production area is acidic, having a pH of 5 or less (Tello et al. 1992).

Lepidium meyenii Walp. has also been cultivated in other climates and therefore its range of adaptation is not as narrow as previously believed (Tello et al. 1992). At Davis, California, a short-scale experimental cultivation has been done. Four to six-week-old seedlings of that experiment that were transplanted in the field at the middle of September initiated hypocotyl development in 6-8 weeks. At this time of the year daylength is approximately 10 hours and mean soil temperature approximately 12°C. The hypocotyls/roots reached a maximum size of 35-50 mm in diameter 7 months after transplanting, when daylength was over 13 hours and mean soil temperature was approximately 20°C. By the middle of March, at the end of the rainy season, irrigation water was supplied as needed. Floral stems developed at this stage at the base of the stem, reaching anthesis and fruit-setting 8-9 months after sowing the seed. Therefore, most of the plants completed their seed-to-seed cycle in 10-11 months.

Experiments on photoperiod response in growth chambers demonstrate that Lepidium meyenii Walp. does not require short days for general development, hypocotyl enlargement or flowering. Hypocotyl enlargement takes place at similar rates under either short (12 hours) or long days (14 hours). Similarly, flowering takes place independently of daylength and without need of a vernalization period (Quirós et al. 1996). It is unknown, however, whether vernalization will promote more profuse and coordinated flowering in this species.

According to the results of these experiments, Lepidium meyenii Walp. can be considered photoperiod-neutral and can be grown as an annual or biennial species, depending of water availability and optimal temperatures. Low temperatures and water availability during the growing season seem to be more important than daylength in the development of the Lepidium meyenii Walp. plant.

 

 

4. HISTORY

Lepidium meyenii Walp. is an important starch plant in the family Brassicaceae, the mustard family. This is the only species in the family cultivated as a starch crop. The plant is one of a few crops that can be grown in very inhospitable regions, at very high altitudes (up to 4,500 m) in the Andean mountains due to its high frost tolerance (one of the highest frost tolerances among cultivated species). Its outstanding capacity to proliferate on one of the world’s worst farmlands with extreme temperatures and soil, turned it a crucial crop for puna inhabitants since ancient times.

Native Peruvians traditionally have utilized Lepidium meyenii Walp. since pre-Incan times for both nutritional and medicinal purposes. It is an important staple in the diets of these people, as it has the highest nutritional value of any food crop grown there. It is rich in sugars, protein, starches, and essential nutrients (especially iodine and iron).

According to archaeological studies, domestication of Lepidium meyenii Walp. appears to have started at least 2,000 years ago by ancient Peruvians of the puna region, around the area of San Blas in the department of Junín, central Peru. Moreover, Lepidium meyenii Walp. primitive cultivars have been found in archaeological sites dating as far back as 1600 B.C. Over the centuries, Lepidium meyenii Walp. has evolved to flourish under extreme conditions.

The custom to eat Lepidium meyenii Walp. in Peru was registered by Spanish chroniclers in the 16th century. During his visit to the Junín area in 1549, the encomendero Juan Tello de Soto Mayor reportedly received ‘maca fruits’ as a tribute and used them to improve the fertility of the livestock they brought from Castile.

Effectively, Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root has been used for centuries in the Andes to enhance fertility in humans and animals. Soon after the Spanish settled in South America, the Spanish found that their livestock were reproducing poorly in the highlands. The local Indians recommended feeding the animals ‘maca’, and so remarkable were the results that Spanish chroniclers gave in-depth reports. Even colonial records of some 200 years ago indicate that payments of (roughly) nine tons of ‘maca’ were demanded from one Andean area alone for this purpose.

It was also stated, during a visit to the area of Huánuco in 1572, that the Chinchaycochas had used the ‘maca’ for bartering since the time of the Incas, as there was no other crop on their lands.

Today, Lepidium meyenii Walp. is grown on small plots with a few rows and up to about 500 m2 in size, on peasant land in communities around Lake Junín (Yanacancha, Ingahuasi, Cerro de Pasco, Ninacaca and Vicco). The rural community is firmly convinced that eating Lepidium meyenii Walp. enables couples who think they are infertile to have children.

To the Andean Indians and indigenous peoples, Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a valuable commodity. Because so little else grows in the region, Lepidium meyenii Walp. is often traded with communities at lower elevations for such other staples as rice, corn, green vegetables, and beans. The dried hypocotyl/roots can be stored for up to seven years.

The hypocotyl/root is consumed fresh or dried. When the fresh hypocotyls/roots have been harvested, the peasants usually bake or roast them in ashes (in the same manner as sweet potatoes) in the field in a traditional manner they call huatias (cooked between clods of red-hot peat) on pachamancas (cooked in contact with hot stones taken from a wood fire and covered with earth). Hypocotyls/roots prepared in this way are considered a treat.

However, most of the harvest is left to dry and can then be kept for several years. The dried roots are stored and, later, for eating purposes, the dried hypocotyls are hydrated overnight and boiled or parboiled in water or milk until they are soft to make a porridge. They also are made into a popular sweet, fragrant, fermented drink called ‘maca chicha’. In Peru even maca jam, pudding, and sodas are popular. The tuberous hypocotyls/roots have a tangy, sweet taste and an aroma similar to that of butterscotch.

Contemporarily, Leon (1964b) was the first in introducing an international audience to literature on Lepidium meyenii Walp. Since then, near 40 years have passed in which Lepidium meyenii Walp. has seen its fortunes change. During the tumultuous 1980s, cultivation of Lepidium meyenii Walp. in Peru precipitously declined. At the beginning of the 21st century, Lepidium meyenii Walp. cultivation and exportation experimented an explosive increasing and the ‘maca fever’ or ‘Andean Ginseng fever’ reached the Internet.

Nowadays, Lepidium meyenii Walp. has been growing in world popularity over the last several years due to several large marketing campaigns promoting its energizing, fertility enhancement, hormonal balancing, aphrodisiac, and, especially, enhanced sexual performance properties.

Modern companies are offering powdered dry hypocotyl/root and praising the “invigorating” effects of them. The dry matter is processed in order to prepare products in tabloid form or in capsules as a food supplement which are in demand because of their nutritional value and because of the supposition that they stimulate stamina (sexual and athletic), sexual appetite and increase fertility. Processing of Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root into 500-mg gelatin capsules may add several hundred US dollars of value to a kilogram of dry hypocotyl/root. This product is also offered as ‘Peruvian ginseng’, although Lepidium meyenii Walp. is not in the same family as ginseng.

In order to encourage its cultivation, a yearly Lepidium meyenii Walp. fair has been held since the Association of Maca Producers was established in the department of Pasco some years ago. At the present time, it is possible that Lepidium meyenii Walp. is not being grown to its full potential because of the lack of optimal soil in the production areas.

Basically, the value of Lepidium meyenii Walp. resides in its high nutritive value. Traditionally, the peasants of the zones where Lepidium meyenii Walp. is grown are used to cook 2 or 3 hypocotyls in a soup that they eat regularly.

In Peruvian herbal medicine, Lepidium meyenii Walp. is traditionally considered beneficial for/against: treatment of infertility, sexual impotence, reestablishes physical and intellectual capacity, anemia, chronic constipation, hair loosing (stimulates hair growing), nervousness,   mental deficit, growing stages (children), immunostimulant, tuberculosis, menstrual disorders, menopause symptoms, stomach cancer, sterility (and other reproductive and sexual disorders), and to enhance memory.

Herbal medicine uses in the United States and abroad include increasing energy, stamina, and endurance in athletes, promoting mental clarity, treating male impotence, and helping with menstrual irregularities, female hormonal imbalances, menopause, and chronic fatigue syndrome. These uses are not confirmed.

The huge success reached by Lepidium meyenii Walp. has led to the experimentation of its cultivation in pots. A 200 g jar of Lepidium meyenii Walp. flour was sold for $15 in the United States (2001). Today, an excess in the production of Lepidium meyenii Walp. has led to a diminishing of its price.

Today, and because of the new investigations about this marvelous Andean plant, the edible part of Lepidium meyenii Walp., crushed and pulverized (‘maca flour’) is not only used encapsulated as diet supplement but also as a main ingredient for the elaboration of cookies, cakes, breads, candies, jams, soups, fruit juices, punches, cocktails, wines and drinks.

Some companies are selling standardized or concentrated extracts of chemicals found by them in Lepidium meyenii Walp. These chemicals and their biological effects have yet to be confirmed by independent research.

In the cultivation area, at least eight types of Lepidium meyenii Walp. are differentiated according to the colouring of the plant and the hypocotyl/root. In spite of the different colors, most Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyls/roots are the same, phytochemically. Although there is no gene bank for this species, the Agricultural University of La Molina and the University of Pasco have collected genetic material. The largest collection of cultivated maca and wild species of Lepidium is maintained at the Universidad Nacional Agraria, La Molina, in Lima, Perú.

In 2002, a scandal took place in Peru when one of the main Lepidium meyenii Walp. marketers in the United States (and which funded much of the clinical research) patented the use of Lepidium meyenii Walp. in the United States (also pending in Europe and Australia) for fertility and aphrodisiac purposes.

This could prevent Lepidium meyenii Walp. extracts of Peruvian origin from being imported into the United States and abroad. This would be morally wrong and unacceptable for Peruvian Lepidium meyenii Walp. indigenous farmers from which the marketing companies and the whole world learned about Lepidium meyenii Walp. properties. Moreover, Peru is the world’s major exporter of Lepidium meyenii Walp.

The high nutritional value, its reputed medicinal properties, and its amenability for processing in a large number of products, including health supplements, makes this crop quite attractive for regions where other crops cannot be grown.

However, there are still some things to improve related to Lepidium meyenii Walp. exploitation. For example, the current practice of drying the plants after harvesting needs improvement. Often it results in losses of 30-50% of the harvest due to rotting caused by overheating of foliage still present in the plants. Research is necessary to determine the optimal practices for root drying to minimize losses.

 


    Description Price
1.   Maca
Item No. pn001		 $10.90
All prices in US Dollars

5. UTILITY

Parts Used : The main edible part is the hypocotyl/root which also has medicinal use.

·Hypocotyl/root : Traditionally, it is eaten cooked, in soups. Today, the hypocotyls/roots are preferably grounded in order to obtain a flour that can be encapsulated.

Properties :

Lepidium meyenii Walp. is used as:

anti rheumatic

antifatigue

antitusigen

aphrodisiac

energizer

fertilizer (it is said to regulate diseases proper of the reproductive process)

food

immunostimulant

memory enhancer

menstrual

nutritive (high)

sexual potency magnifier revitalizant

tonic

Lepidium meyenii Walp. is used against/for:


anemia

chronic constipation

chronic fatigue syndrome

convalescence

female hormonal imbalances

fertility

growing stages (children)

hair loosing

increase energy

increasing endurance in athletes

increasing stamina

infertility

male impotence

malnutrition

memory

menopause

menstrual irregularities

mental deficit

nervine

nervousness

osteomalacia

osteoporosis

promoting mental clarity

reestablishes physical and intellectual capacities

rheumatism

sexual impotence

sterility

stimulate hair growing

stomach cancer

tuberculosis

weakness


 

Basically, Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a highly nutritive food although it is also used extensively for medicinal purposes. Spanish chroniclers reported in colony times that some indigenous peoples ate huge amounts of Lepidium meyenii Walp. because there was no other crop on their lands. The conquerors also found “well fed babies and tall adults” in the high Andes, which was attributed to their diet based on Lepidium meyenii Walp.

The Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root has a 10 to 14 percent protein and 78 percent carbohydrate content and is also rich in starch, glycosides, alkaloids and tannins. Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root has also a high calcium and iron content (258 mg and 15.4 mg per 100g, respectively) and are probably the main advantages of this Andean crop.

Its nutritional value is frequently increased by the way they are prepared. In Peru, a kind of cocktail or ‘chicha de maca’ is prepared with the hypocotyls/roots plus milk, bee honey, and fruits, and addition of sugarcane rum. Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyls/roots can also be prepared only as juice, without alcohol.

The nutritional value of the dried hypocotyl/root of Lepidium meyenii Walp. is high, resembling that found in cereal grains such as maize, rice and wheat. Fresh hypocotyls/roots contain 80% water. Dry Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyls/roots have the following composition: 59% carbohydrates, 10.2% proteins, 8.5% fiber and 2.2% lipids among a few other compounds (Dini et al. 1994).

In addition to its rich supply of essential nutrients, Lepidium meyenii Walp. contains alkaloids, tannins, and saponins. A chemical analysis conducted in 1981 showed the presence of biologically active aromatic isothiocyanates (a common chemical found in the mustard family of plants and shown to be a wood preservative and insecticide).

In early times, Lepidium meyenii Walp. was appreciated not only as nutritious food, but also as a gift to the gods along with corn and potatoes. Mountain Raco in Junín was considered the god of stewed food. In its honor, the natives buried potatoes and Lepidium meyenii Walp. there among other offerings.

Lepidium meyenii Walp. also was used in beverages with hallucinogenic products in dances and religious ceremonies (Castro de León 1990).

According to folk belief, Lepidium meyenii Walp. is an aphrodisiac which enhances sexual drive. During the times of the Tawantinsuyo, the legend says that before going to war the Incas used Lepidium meyenii Walp. to feed the warriors to increase their energy and vitality. However, after conquering a city the soldiers were prohibited to consume it as a measure to protect women from their sexual impulses.

In rural communities, there is a firm conviction that eating Lepidium meyenii Walp. increases female fertility in humans and domestic animals, which tends to be reduced at higher altitudes (León 1964). Sanchez León (1996) presents an interesting account of the role of Lepidium meyenii Walp. in the conquest of the Inca Empire.

The Spaniards when arriving in a hostile environment, such as the puna of Junín, were afraid of losing their horses because of the lack of conventional pastures and their inability to reproduce at high altitudes. They soon learned about the nutritious and fertility-enhancing properties of Lepidium meyenii Walp., allowing their horses to pasture in fields of this crop. Owing to these beliefs, Lepidium meyenii Walp. had a prominent place as a crop used to enhance the reproduction of pigs, chickens and horses.

Some investigation has been done on this, and beliefs of fertility-enhancing properties of Lepidium meyenii Walp. have been partially substantiated since 1961. That year, in an animal study, rats fed on Lepidium meyenii Walp. produced some 25 percent more offspring than control rats. A probable increasing in the development of the Graaf follicles stimulated by Lepidium meyenii Walp. has been proposed to explain this gain in fertility (Chacón 1990; Rea 1992).

Chemical analysis by Johns (1981) suggests that the fertility-enhancing properties of Lepidium meyenii Walp. may be due to the presence of biologically active aromatic isothiocyanates, and specifically due to benzyl isothiocyanate and p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate. The latter is also found in mashua ( Tropaeolum tuberosum Ruiz and Pavon) also know as añu and isaño. This species, however, is reputed to be an antiaphrodisiac and antireproductive agent in males, but a promoter of female fertility (Johns 1981).

The first study reporting Lepidium meyenii Walp.’s effect on sexual function was published in 2000 and reported the beneficial effects of using Lepidium meyenii Walp. in impotent mice and rats. Another was published a year later, indicating similar effects in male rats. Studies in 2001 reported a beneficial effect on male sperm production in rats and improvement of sperm count and motility in nine healthy adult men. In 2002 a study reported improved sexual performance in inexperienced male rats.

The putative aphrodisiac powers of Lepidium meyenii Walp. also can be attributed to the presence of prostaglandins and sterols in the hypocotyl/root (Dini et al. 1994). However, some investigators consider the measuring of libido enhancement a highly subjective business, so that they maintain skeptical about this property.

Indigenous people are used to eat the hypocotyls/roots in soups. They can eat as much as half a kilogram per day. They also eat them in pachamancas and huatiadas. Traditionally, Lepidium meyenii Walp. is mainly eaten as food more than as a diet complement.

Commercially, flour can be prepared from Lepidium meyenii Walp. dry hypocotyls/roots for making bread, cookies, etc. Lepidium meyenii Walp. flour is also mixed with chuño (freeze-dried potatoes), oca, quinua and soybeans to prepare different dishes and dessert. Toasted and ground hypocotyls/roots are used to prepare “maca coffee” (Castro de Leon 1990).

There are only a few thousand of people in the Andean region that eat Lepidium meyenii Walp. In spite of that, today, the pharmaceutical industry is a main consumer of Lepidium meyenii Walp. and processes practically any roots that are in acceptable sanitary condition. Dried Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyls/roots are ground to power and sold in drugstores in capsules as a medicine and food supplement to increase stamina and fertility.

As a result, today Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root is advertised as an aphrodisiac, stamina-builder and ferility-promoter. It is also often promoted as a cure for rheumatism, respiratory ailments and as a laxative.

Used as sexual male potency enhancer, some manufacturers are used to elaborate capsules from a mixture of Lepidium meyenii Walp., Jatropha macrantha “huanarpo macho” and vitamin E. Lepidium meyenii Walp. is the energizing element; Jatropha macrantha is aphrodisiac, nervine and tonic, and vitamin E contributes with the oxygenation of the blood, which favors penis erection.

Oshima M. et al (2003) demonstrated in mice that the administration of Lepidium meyenii Walp. and Jatropha macrantha increased significantly testosterone levels. However, in a 2003 double-blind placebo human trial, men taking a Lepidium meyenii Walp. Hypocotyl/root extract (1.5 g to 3 g daily) evidenced no significant changes in any reproductive hormone level tested, including testosterone (which actually showed a slight decrease!)

Other medicinal properties attributed to Lepidium meyenii Walp. are regulation of hormonal secretion, stimulation of metabolism, thyroid stimulation (and resulting weight loss), memory improvement, antidepressant activity and effectiveness in combating anemia, leukemia, AIDS, cancer and alcoholism among others. None of these properties, however, has been substantiated by scientific research.

It is important to keep in mind that Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root is a vegetable and a main staple in the Andean indigenous diet, as beans, potatoes, and rice are elsewhere. A few miligrams of powdered hypocotyl/root probably will not produce a desirable effect.

Lepidium meyenii Walp. is also considered beneficial for hormonal balancing, endocrine and thyroid function enhancement, and even immune system enhancement. These benefits are probably related to its content of amino acids and nutrients content as well.

Although hormones are chemically diverse, they are constructed simply from amino acids and cholesterol. If given sufficient levels of starting materials (natural amino acids), the body may use them as needed to construct hormones which keep the body in balance. Lepidium meyenii Walp. is rich in amino acids. That is the reason why Lepidium meyenii Walp. could be useful to enhance endocrine functions, especially in those people whose diet is poor.

Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, could take account of some of the properties attributed to Lepidium meyenii Walp. Amino acids are required to manufacture neurotransmitters such as dopamine and noradrenaline. These substances transmit signals in the nervous system and play a major role in the process of sexual arousal and physical performance during sex. The main amino acids that these neurotransmitters require include phenylalanine, tyrosine, and histidine (all three of which are found in good supply in Lepidium meyenii Walp.). The amino acid arginine, of which Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a significant source, is thought to assist in the generation of nitric oxide—which is thought to counteract male impotence (although this is not clinically validated). Many libido- and sexual-enhancement health supplements on the market today contain arginine for this reason. Arginine has also clinically proven to play a role in male fertility through its action of increasing sperm production and motility. It is highly likely that some of the sexual and fertility effects reported were due to Lepidium meyenii Walp.’s high arginine content.

The amino acid histidine also is found in Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root in high amounts. This amino acid plays an often-overlooked but important role in sexual function: during ejaculation and orgasm. The body utilizes histidine to produce histamine, and histamine in the corpus cavernosum (penile erectile tissue) ultimately is responsible for the way ejaculations happen. Men suffering from premature ejaculation often show increased histamine activity; they may be helped by a simple antihistamine, or the amino acid methionine (which counteracts the formation of histamine from histidine). It is this cellular effect at play as to why one of the side effects of prescription antihistamines is anorgasmia (or the inability/difficulty to achieve an orgasm). Conversely, men and women having difficulties achieving orgasms may be helped by histidine supplementation—this may increase histamine levels in the sexual tract, which in turn make orgasms and ejaculations easier. An additional pro-sexual effect of histidine (as well as arginine) may lie in its vasodilating effect, increasing blood flow to the sex organs. Again, the significant, natural histidine content of Lepidium meyenii Walp. may have played a role in the rat studies reporting a greater number of copulations.

Finally, some glucosinolates found in Lepidium meyenii Walp. are plant chemicals known to be cancer-preventative.

There are three other cultivated species in the genus Lepidium which are important (Hanelt 1986; Mabberley 1993): Lepidium sativum L., Lepidium latifolium L. and Lepidium virginicum L.

Lepidium sativum L., the “garden cress” or “land cress”, is grown worldwide and is used at the cotyledon or seedling stage as a salad component. It is also used as fodder for the livestock.

Lepidium latifolium L., “dittander”, was a cultivated salad plant of the Ancient Greeks and is used as a medicinal plant in the Canary Islands to alleviate renal lithiasis. According to studies of Navarro et al. (1994), this species has diuretic action.

Lepidium virginicum L., “poor man’s-pepper”, an American species, is used as a leafy vegetable (weed in maize) by the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico.

 

Chemical Composition: alkaloids (at least four) starch amino acids per 100 g. Alanine 631 mg Arginine 994 mg Aspartic acid 917 mg Glutamic acid 1565 mg Glycine 683 mg Histidine 419 mg HO-Proline 260 mg Isoleucine 474 mg Leucine 910 mg Lysine 545 mg Methionine 280 mg Phenylalanine 553 mg Proline   5 mg Sarcosine   7 mg Serine 504 mg Threonine 331 mg Tryptophan 49 mg Tyrosine 306 mg Valine 793 mg

others: asparagine, glutamine. ash 4.9% beta-ecdysone carbohydrates (59% - 78%) cellulose phenolic compounds cumarins fats (lipids) 2.2%; per 100 g: Linoleic 720 mcg Palmitic 520 mcg Oleic 245 mcg  fiber 8.5%flavonoids fructuose glucosinolates (about 1% fresh weight) glycosides benzyl isotiocianate isotiocionate levulose lignin maltose minerals per 100 g. Calcium 258 mg Copper 6 mg Iron 15.4 mg Iodine 0.52 mg Manganese 0.8 mg Potassium 2,050 mg Sodium 19 mg Zinc 3.8 mg others: magnesium, phosphorus p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate (it has reputed aphrodisiac properties) protein (10%-14%) mainly in the form of polypeptides and amino acids saponins sitosterol sterols 0.05% – 0.1% stigmasterol steroid substances tannins triterpens vitamins -         vitamin B1 -         vitamin B2 390 mcg/100 g -         vitamin B6 1,140 mcg/100 g -         vitamin B12 -          vitamin C 286 mg/100 g -          vitamin E   calories: 325 cal/100 g  

 

6. DOSE AND CONTRAINDICATIONS

Dose :

-          Traditionally, in the Andes Lepidium meyenii Walp. is eaten in a very similar way to potatoes. Peasants of central Peru are used to eat almost half a kilogram of Lepidium meyenii Walp. hypocotyl/root in a single day. They say that this amount energizes them quite enough in order to accomplish their farming activities as well as their ‘husband activities’ (actually, women in central Peru are very prolific). They eat it cooked and most commonly in soups.

-          In the United States, herbal medicine recommends 5 g to 20 g of processed Lepidium meyenii Walp daily. The preferred presentations are in tablets, capsules and flour. The last one, ‘maca flour’, is the cheapest and can be stirred into juice, water or smoothies (2 teaspoons of root powder are about 5.5 grams).

-          If you are to take standardized and concentrated extract products, follow the labeled instructions, according to the manufacturer.

-          Some authorities are questioning the expending of Lepidium meyenii Walp. capsules or tablets. They say that the traditional use of this Andean plant is as food, not as a diet supplement. Taking a few capsules or tablets of dry Lepidium meyenii Walp. powder will not be of much benefit, as Andean peasants are used to eat huge amounts of this tuberous organ instead of having just some milligrams of it. Hence, they recommend preferably the use of Lepidium meyenii Walp. flour (that is, powdered dry hypocotyls/roots) in soaps, drinks, cakes, cookies, etc. instead of capsules or tablets.

-          In several rat and mice studies, the animals were administered up to 4 g per kg of body weight of a concentrated Lepidium meyenii Walp. extract to achieve an improvement of sexual performance. This would equate to about a 300 g dosage in an average 75 kg man.

 

Contraindications :

-          The administration of this product in doses over 2 g/kg of weight may be contraindicated in hypertensive individuals.

 

Drug Interactions : None reported.

 

 

7. LITERATURE REVISED

Aliaga-Cárdenas, R. 1995. Biologia floral de la maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) Huayre-Junín. Thesis, Universidad Nacional Agraria, Fac. de Agronomia, La Molina, Lima, Perú.

Al-Shehbaz, I.A. 1986a New wool-alien Cruciferae (Brassicaceae) in North America: Lepidium and Sisymbrium. Rhodora 88:347-356.

Al-Shehbaz, I.A. 1986b. The genera of Lepidieae (Cruciferae; Brassicaceae) in southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 67:265-311.

Bonnier, E. 1986. Utilisation du sol à l’époque préhispanique: le cas archéologique du Shaka-Placamayo. Cah. Sci. Hum. 22(1):97- 113

Brako, L. and Zarucchi, J.L. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monographs in Systematic Botany, Missouri Botanical Garden 45:I-XI:1-1286.

Cara, A. M., et al."The role of histamine in human penile erection. Br. J. Urol. 1995 Feb;75(2):220-4.

Castro de Leon, M. 1990. Un cultivo Andino en extinction: el caso de la maca. Peru Indig. 12:85-94.

Chacón de Popovici, G. 1990. La maca (Lepidium peruvianum Chacón sp.nov.) y su hábitat. Revista Peruana de Biología, 3(2).

Chacón, G. 1990. La maca (Lepidium peruvianurn) Chacón sp. nov.) y su habitat. Rev. Peruana de Biologia 3:171-272.

Chacon, R. C. 1961. Estudio Fitoquimico de Lepidium meyenii. Dissertation, Univ., Nac. Mayo de San Marcos, Peru, 1986.