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The objective of this study was to shed light on the effect of a novel Lepidium peruvianum (Maca) blend on anti‐fatigue capacities in exercised rats. Twenty‐eight male albino rats were allocated into four groups (n = 7) at random: (i) Control (vehicle), (ii) Maca: (40 mg/kg/BW), (iii) WL‐FST: weight‐loaded forced swimming test group, and (iv) WL‐FST + Maca group. Maca supplementation increased swimming time to exhaustion (p <.01), while decreased serum lactate and liver glycogen concentrations. Maca addition resulted in lower levels of serum, liver, and muscle MDA (p <.05). Muscle GPx activity increased in both Maca groups (p <.001). Moreover, NF‐κB levels were less in the WL‐FST + Maca compared to the WL‐FST group (p <.001). Nrf1, Nrf2, PGC‐1α, SIRT1, and TFAM levels were augmented in the WL‐FST + Maca compared to the WL‐FST (p <.05). Consequently, our Maca blend increased endurance capacity and prevented exercise‐induced oxidative stress and lactic acid buildup. Practical applications: The brassica species Lepidium peruvianum (maca) has been consumed in Peru for centuries to enhance mood, libido, and energy. Although the positive effects of this plant on energy metabolism are accredited, the underlying molecular mechanisms of these effects have not been sufficiently elucidated. The current study's findings suggest that this innovative, exclusive maca powder blend can boost endurance while preventing oxidative stress and lactic acid buildup during acute exercise. The mechanism of this efficacy is thought to be caused by maca's regulatory properties on energy metabolism signaling receptors and strong antioxidant scavenging effects on the free radicals that are produced by prolonged exhaustive exercise periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:To determine and analyze amino acid content in Maca from different habitats and varieties. Methods: Maca from two habitats and three colors were selected and a kind of turnip commonly used was to fake Maca. Ater optimizing the hydrolysis conditions, 100 mg Maca samples were hydrolyzed in the concentration of 6 mol/L hydrochloric acid at 110 R for 24 h. The content range of amino acids in each sample was detected by HPLC. Results: The average total content of amino acids in Maca was 9.52 g/100 g. Yunnan yellow Maca contained 16 kinds of amino acids, including 7 kinds of human essential amino acids, accounting for 17. 2% of the total amino acids while Yunnan purple Maca held 16 kinds of amino acids, counting 7 kinds of human essential amino acids, accounting for 16. 5% of the total amino acids. The amino acid ratio coefficient method also showed that the two kinds of Maca had higher nutritional value than the others. 15 kinds of amino acids were detected in Yunnan black Maca, including 6 kinds of essential amino acids, accounting for 9. 60% of the total amino acids. Among amino acids in Yunnan Maca, the highest content was Arg. A total of 12 kinds of amino acids, together with 6 essential human amino acids were determined in Peru black Maca, accounting for 11.6% of the total amino acids. In Peru black Maca the highest concentration of amino acid was Pro. It was noteworthy that the amino acid species were comprehensive in Maca, and high level of amino acids resulted in high nutritional value. Its specific amino acid composition ratio was obviously different from Turnip, the counterfeit goods to deceive customers. Conclusions: The method of automatic amino acid analyzer is simple and accurate, and can be used for the identification and content deter¬mination of amino acids in Maca as amino acid is an essential nutrient in Maca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lepidium meyenii (Maca) is an edible root plant that grows in the Andean region of Peru. For centuries, the plant has been used as a dietary supplement for its nutritional and therapeutic properties. Maca are rich in high value nutritional elements and secondary metabolites (macaridine, macamides and glucosinolates) with high biological activity. Several studies demonstrated various biological effects of Maca mainly in the field of fertility. The aim of this review is to summarize the state of knowledge on the properties of Maca on male reproduction. Literature data was performed in PubMed with researches published from 2000 to 2019. The research showed results related to the effects of Maca on the quality and quantity of the semen, sexual behaviour and disorders of the male genital tract. Despite the numerous studies carried out on different animal species, further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms of action of Maca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The change and intensification of land use has been generating impoverishment of soils with negative effects on biological communities. It was analyzed the bacterial composition of maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp) cultivation soils by Illumina sequencing in the Bombón plateau, during 2019. Three sampling sectors were defined, a control sector (natural soil) and two sectors with use pressure ("first use" and "second use" soils). Soil physicochemical indicators were determined through analytical methods and the composition of bacterial communities through Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The results of pH and EC, in control soils and with use pressure, varied from 7.51 to 4.53 and from 0.06 to 0.47 dS/m, respectively. The highest OM, N, P, K and Ca contents were recorded in control soils, decreasing significantly in soils with use pressure. Principal components analysis (PCA) presented a percentage of total variation of 97.1%. Illumina sequencing revealed 3776 bacterial families. SIMPER analysis showed that the highest contribution percentages were made by the Acidobacteriaceae (2.95%), Verrucomicrobiaceae (2.68%), Thermoactinomycetaceae (2.11%) and Akkermansiaceae (2.10%) families. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed a good association between physicochemical variables and bacterial families. The metagenomic analysis has allowed the identification of bacterial families that can be used as indicators of good and bad soil physicochemical quality according to the pressure of use by maca crops. As well as the best physicochemical indicators predictive of changes in the composition of bacterial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a herbaceous plant grown at over 4,000 m in Peru. It has been studied worldwide for its properties on fertility. Previous studies have assessed maca effects on semen quality, but there is need of randomised, double‐blind trials in order to make clinical decisions. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of maca on seminal parameters in infertile adult men. This is a double‐blind, randomised, placebo‐controlled pilot trial in which sixty‐nine patients diagnosed with mild asthenozoospermia and/or mild oligozoospermia were supplied by maca (n = 35) or placebo (n = 34) (2 g/day) for a period of 12 weeks. When compared patients treated with maca and patients treated with placebo, there were no significant differences in semen volume (2.95 ± 0.52 vs. 2.90 ± 0.52; p =.392), sperm motility (22.34 ± 2.22 vs. 23.05 ± 2.22; p =.462) and normal sperm morphology (7.89 ± 1.89 vs. 7.04 ± 2.28; p =.801), but there was a significant difference in sperm concentration (15.04 ± 5.61 vs. 10.16 ± 3.59, respectively; p =.011). In conclusion, patients treated with 2 g of maca for a period of 12 weeks showed a significant improvement in seminal concentration compared with patients treated with placebo. There were no significant differences in semen volume, sperm mobility and morphology when compared both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Maca ( Lepidium meyenii , Lepidium peruvianum ) is part of the Brassicaceae family and grows at high altitudes in the Peruvian Andes mountain range (3500-5000 m). Historically, it has been used as a nutrient-dense food and for its medicinal properties, primarily in enhancing energy and fertility. Scientific research has validated these traditional uses and other clinical applications by elucidating maca's mechanisms of action, nutrition, and phytochemical content. However, research over the last twenty years has identified up to seventeen different colors (phenotypes) of maca. The color, hypocotyl size, growing location, cultivation, and post-harvest processing methods can have a significant effect on the nutrition content, phytochemical profile, and clinical application. Yet, research differentiating the colors of maca and clinical applications remains limited. In this review, research on the nutrition, phytochemicals, and various colors of maca, including black, red, yellow (predominant colors), purple, gray (lesser-known colors), and any combination of colors, including proprietary formulations, will be discussed based on available preclinical and clinical trials. The gaps, deficiencies, and conflicts in the studies will be detailed, along with quality, safety, and efficacy criteria, highlighting the need for future research to specify all these factors of the maca used in publications.

Maca has shown broad application prospects as a new food resource. The function of maca is directly affected by its geographical origin, and an effective method for studying traceability must be established. This study aimed to discriminate maca from different regions at large scales (Peru and China) and small scales (Yunnan, Xinjiang, and Tibet in China) through geographical authentication using the stable isotope ratio (SIR) (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, δ 2 H and δ 18 O) and mineral elemental fingerprints combined with chemometrics. For Peruvian and Chinese maca, overall discriminatory accuracy of 100% and 96.2% were obtained by applying SIR and the mineral element analysis, respectively. For maca obtained from different Chinese regions, the order of the discriminatory accuracy was mineral elements (80.2%) = SIR combined with mineral elements (80.2%) > SIR (71.9%). K, B, Mn, Fe, Mo, Cd and As were identified as the main discriminating indicators for identifying maca from different Chinese regions., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Maca( Lepidium meyenii) known as the " national treasure of Peru" and " South American ginseng",is annual or biennial herbs of the genus Lepidium in Cruciferae. It mainly contains proteins,amino acids,polysaccharides,alkaloids( including:macamides,imidazoles,hydroxypyridines,carbazoles,organic amines and so on),glucosinolates,macaenes,thioethylurea,sterols and other chemical constituents. In recent years,more and more studies have found that it could treat osteoporosis and improve prostatehyperplasia,and possessed anti-cancer,female climacteric syndrome,rheumatism,antioxidant and other pharmacological effects. In this paper,the chemical constituents and bioactivity of Maca were reviewed,which could provide the basis for the further development and utilization of Maca.

Maca, Lepidium meyenii Walpers (Brassicaceae), is an annual herbaceous plant native to the high plateaus of the Peruvian central Andes. Its underground storage hypocotyls have been a traditional medicinal agent and dietary staple since pre-Columbian times. Reported properties include energizing and fertility-enhancing effects. Published reports have focused on the benzylalkamides (macamides) present in dry hypocotyls as one of the main bioactive components. Macamides are secondary amides formed by benzylamine and a fatty acid moiety, with varying hydrocarbon chain lengths and degree of unsaturation. Although it has been assumed that they are usually present in fresh undamaged tissues, analyses show them to be essentially absent from them. However, hypocotyls dried by traditional Andean postharvest practices or industrial oven drying contain up to 800μgg(-1) dry wt (2.3μmolg(-1) dry wt) of macamides. In this study, the generation of macamides and their putative precursors were studied during nine-week traditional drying trials at 4200m altitude and in ovens under laboratory conditions. Freeze-thaw cycles in the open field during drying result in tissue maceration and release of free fatty acids from storage and membrane lipids up to levels of 1200μgg(-1) dry wt (4.3μmolg(-1) dry wt). Endogenous metabolism of the isothiocyanates generated from glucosinolate hydrolysis during drying results in maximal benzylamine values of 4300μgg(-1) dry wt (40.2μmolg(-1) dry wt). Pearson correlation coefficients of the accumulation profiles of benzylamine and free fatty acid to that of macamides showed good values of 0.898 and 0.934, respectively, suggesting that both provide sufficient substrate for amide synthesis during the drying process., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)