Abstract
Lepidium meyenii (maca) is a Peruvian plant of the Brassicaceae family cultivated for more than 2000 years, which grows exclusively in the central Andes between 4000 and 4500 m altitude. Maca is used as a food supplement and also for its medicinal properties described traditionally. Since the 90s of the XX century, an increasing interest in products from maca has been observed in many parts of the world. In the last decade, exportation of maca from Peru has increased from 1,415,000 USD in 2001 to USD 6,170,000 USD in 2010. Experimental scientific evidence showed that maca has nutritional, energizer, and fertility-enhancer properties, and it acts on sexual dysfunctions, osteoporosis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, memory and learning, and protects skin against ultraviolet radiation. Clinical trials showed efficacy of maca on sexual dysfunctions as well as increasing sperm count and motility. Maca is a plant with great potential as an adaptogen and appears to be promising as a nutraceutical in the prevention of several diseases.
Highlights
Lepidium meyenii Walpers is a Peruvian plant growing over 4000 m with high potential for bioprospecting [1]
Aqueous and hydroalcoholic extract of red maca, to a similar extent, reduced the prostate weight in rats with prostatic hyperplasia induced by testosterone enanthate (TE) [14]
Red maca was able to reverse the effect of TE administration in prostate weight and zinc levels, no effect was observed in seminal vesicle weight, another androgen-dependent organ [20]
Summary
Lepidium meyenii Walpers (maca) is a Peruvian plant growing over 4000 m with high potential for bioprospecting [1]. The hypothesis that maca may be effective in improving health status, reproductive function, is supported by several lines of evidence. Historical aspects and biological properties of maca, gathered from experimental and clinical studies on this species, reveal the importance of this plant as nutraceutical food, and that maca was adapted to conditions as harsh as observed at high altitude [2, 3, 5,6,7]. The aims of this review are to summarize and assess the evidence from experimental and clinical studies for or against the effectiveness of maca in the improvement of different functions
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