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The Healing Power of Rainforest Herb "MACA" Maca is a hardy perennial plant cultivated high in the Andes Mountains, at altitudes from 8,000 to 14,500 feet. It has one of the highest frost tolerances among native cultivated species. Maca has a low-growing, mat-like stem system, which can go unnoticed in a farmer's field. Its scalloped leaves lie close to the ground and it produces small, self-fertile, off-white flowers typical of the mustard family to which it belongs. The part used is the tuberous root, which looks likes a large radish (up to 8 cm in diameter) which is usually off-white to yellow in color. Unlike many other tuberous plants, maca is propagated by seed. Although it is a perennial, it is grown as an annual; seven to nine months is required to produce the harvested roots. The species L. meyenii was described by Gerhard Walpers in 1843. It has been suggested that the cultivated maca of today is not L. meyenii but a newer species L. peruvianum Chacón, based on various specimens collected since 1960 in the district of San Juan de la Jarpa, in Huancayo province of Peru. While most maca sold in commerce today still refers to the L. meyenii name, economic botanists believe most is L. peruvianum. In 1994 less than 50 hectares were devoted to the commercial cultivation of maca; by 1999 over 1200 hectares were under production due to rising demand in the U.S. and abroad. The area where maca is found, high in the Andes, is an inhospitable region of intense sunlight, violent winds, and below-freezing weather. With its extreme temperatures and poor, rocky soil, the area rates among the world's worst farmland; yet, over the centuries, maca has evolved to flourish under these conditions. Maca was domesticated about 2,000 years ago by the Incas, and primitive cultivars of maca have been found in archaeological sites dating as far back as 1600 B.C. TRIBAL AND HERBAL MEDICINE USES To the Andean Indians and indigenous peoples, maca is a valuable commodity. Because so little else grows in the region, maca is often traded with communities at lower elevations for such other staples as rice, corn, green vegetables, and beans. The dried roots can be stored for up to seven years. Native Peruvians traditionally have utilized maca 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). The tuber or root is consumed fresh or dried. The fresh roots are considered a treat and are baked or roasted in ashes (in the same manner as sweet potatoes). The dried roots are stored and, later, boiled in water or milk 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 roots have a tangy, sweet taste and an aroma similar to that of butterscotch. This energizing plant is also referred to as Peruvian ginseng (although maca is not in the same family as ginseng). Maca has been used for centuries in the Andes to enhance fertility in humans and animals. Soon after the Spanish conquest in South America, the Spanish found that their livestock was reproducing poorly in the highlands. The local Indians recommended feeding the animals maca; so remarkable were the results that Spanish chroniclers gave in-depth reports. Even colonial records of some 200 years ago indicate that payment of (roughly) nine tons of maca was demanded from one Andean area alone for this purpose. In Peruvian herbal medicine today, maca is reported to be used as an immunostimulant; for anemia, tuberculosis, menstrual disorders, menopause symptoms, stomach cancer, sterility (and other reproductive and sexual disorders); and to enhance memory. Maca has been growing in world popularity over the last several years due to several large U.S. marketing campaigns touting its energizing, fertility enhancement, hormonal balancing, aphrodisiac, and, especially, enhanced sexual performance properties. Other (anecdotal) herbal medicine uses in the U.S. 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. PLANT CHEMICALS The nutritional value of dried maca root is high, resembling those of cereal grains such as maize, rice, and wheat. It contains 60-75% carbohydrates, 10-14% protein, 8.5% fiber, and 2.2% lipids. The protein content of maca exists mainly in the form of polypeptides and amino acids (including significant amounts of arginine, serine, histidine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, valine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and threonine). It also has about 250 mg of calcium, 2 g of potassium, and 15 mg of iron in 100 g of dried root-and important amounts of fatty acids (including linolenic, palmitic, and oleic acids). Maca contains sterols (about 0.05% to 0.1%) and other vitamins and minerals. In addition to its rich supply of essential nutrients, maca 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). Chemical research shows maca root contains a chemical called p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate, which has reputed aphrodisiac properties. At least four alkaloids are also present but have not yet been quantified. Fresh maca root contains about 1% glucosinolates-plant chemicals found in many plants in the family Brassicaceae (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables). While no novel glucosinolates have been reported in maca yet, several of the chemicals found in this group of known plant chemicals are documented to be cancer-preventive. Maca's main plant chemicals include: alkaloids, amino acids, beta-ecdysone, calcium, carbohydrates, fatty acids, glucosinolates, iron, magnesium, p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate, phosphorus, potassium, protein, saponins, sitosterols, stigmasterol, tannins, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc.
(Average 10 gram daily serving) |
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| Component | per 10 g | Amino Acids | per 10 g | Minerals | per 10 g | ||
| Protein | 1–1.4 g | Alanine | 63.1 mg | Calcium | 25 mg | ||
| Carbohydrates | 6–7.5 g | Arginine | 99.4 mg | Copper | 0.6 mg | ||
| Fats (lipids) | 220 mg | Aspartic acid | 91.7 mg | Iron | 1.5 mg | ||
| Fiber | 850 mg | Glutamic acid | 156.5 mg | Iodine | 52 mcg | ||
| Ash | 490 mg | Glycine | 68.3 mg | Manganese | 80 mcg | ||
| Sterols | 5–10 mg | Histidine | 41.9 mg | Potassium | 205 mg | ||
| Calories | 32.5 | HO-Proline | 26.0 mg | Sodium | 1.9 mg | ||
| Isoleucine | 47.4 mg | Zinc | 380 mcg | ||||
| Leucine | 91.0 mg | ||||||
| Vitamins | per 10 g | Lysine | 54.5 mg | Fats/Lipids | per 10 g | ||
| B2 | 39 mcg | Methionine | 28.0 mg | Linoleic | 72 mcg | ||
| B6 | 114 mcg | Phenylalanine | 55.3 mg | Palmitic | 52 mcg | ||
| C | 28.6 mg | Proline | 0.5 mg | Oleic | 24.5 mcg | ||
| Niacin | 565 mcg | Sarcosine | 0.7 mg | ||||
| Serine | 50.4 mg | ||||||
| Threonine | 33.1 mg | ||||||
| Tryptophan | 4.9 mg | ||||||
| Tyrosine | 30.6 mg | ||||||
| Valine | 79.3 mg |
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES AND CLINICAL RESEARCH
Maca's fertility-enhancing properties were reported as early as 1961, when researchers discovered that it increased fertility. Marketing and resulting sales of maca for sexual function has been fueled by clinical research since.
The first study reporting maca's effect on sexual function was published in 2000 (and performed by a marketer of maca) and described the beneficial effects of using maca in impotent mice and rats. Another, published a year later, indicated 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; another "self-perception on sexual desire" test in healthy men reported aphrodisiac or libido enhancement effects. In several of the rat and mice studies, the animals were administered up to 4 g per kg of body weight of a "concentrated maca extract" to achieve the reported results. This would (approximately) equate to a 300 g (10 oz.) dose for an average (170 lb.) man!
It may well be that maca's beneficial effects for sexual function and fertility can be explained simply by its high concentration of proteins and vital nutrients. Dried maca root contains about 10% protein - mostly derived from amino acids. Amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) are required in the diet to drive many cellular functions in the body - including sexual and fertility functions. 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 maca). The amino acid arginine, of which maca 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 maca's high arginine content.
The amino acid histidine also is found in maca 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). This is the same mechanism that explains a side effect of prescription antihistamines - aorgasmia (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 maca may have played a role in the rat studies reporting a greater number of copulations. But it does make one wonder - is the benefit of additional copulations at the expense of shorter duration and/or premature ejaculation? Surely this subject is best suited for truly independent (and not product-sponsored) research.
Other benefits and anecdotal reports touting maca for hormonal balancing, endocrine and thyroid function enhancement, and even immune system enhancement are likely related to maca's amino acid and nutrient content as well. The endocrine system drives many functions in the body, including the production of many types of hormones (which, in turn, regulate many other bodily processes). 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. Where diet and nutrition are poor (a common problem in the Andes, home to so few green, leafy vegetables), maca is a vital part of the diet - providing the necessary nutrients to keep the body healthy and functioning efficiently. The marketing claim made that maca actually increases testosterone or sex hormones has been clinically disproved just recently. In a 2003 double-blind placebo human trial, men taking a maca root extract (1.5-3 g daily) evidenced no changes in any reproductive hormonal level tested, including testosterone (which actually showed a slight decrease!).
CURRENT PRACTICAL USES
Today, dried maca root is ground to powder and sold as a food supplement and marketed to increase stamina (sexual and athletic) and fertility. Consumers bombarded with these marketing claims of hormonal balancing, thyroid stimulation (and resulting weight loss), sexual and athletic performance.
When maca first made its debut in the press about 6 years ago it was touted to be the new "natural Viagarrraah" for men - sure to increase testosterone and sexual performance. Several years later, is today the "new HRT alternative" for women - sure to increase estrogen and treat menopause symptoms.
Make no doubt - maca is a wonderful source of natural vital nutrients. The synergy of so many amino acids, vitamins, and minerals in their natural states may increase the assimilation, uptake, and utilization of them in the body.
The cultivation of maca is increasing in the highlands of the Andes to meet the growing demand worldwide; it is hoped that this demand will be sustained and not just another passing fad. In this severely economically-depressed region, the market created for maca will offer new and important sources of income for the indigenous peoples of the Andes. About 10 cultivars there produce maca with different colored roots; most are the same, phytochemically. The cultivar Lepidium peruvianum Chacón has been identified in the major growing regions of the highlands and is the main variety of choice for expanded cultivation today. It will likely supply much of this new demand.
| Main Preparation Method: eaten fresh/dried, or in powder form.
Main Actions (in order): Main Uses:
aphrodisiac, fertility enhancer, increases sperm count/motility Other Properties/Actions Documented by Traditional Use: Cautions: Large amounts may cause intestinal gas. |
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I hope you have enjoy this informational e-mail about Maca and its clinically proven benefits. To order your own tub and see how Maca can help you, visit http://www.alkalinecookbook.com.au/maca-powder-100g/prod-53.html
Eat Well! Be Well! and Enjoy Life!
Paulo Freitag
Alkaline Cook Book
Suite 36, 12 Collins Street
Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Australia
T: +61 3 9654 1855
E: info@alkalinecookbook.com.au
W: http://www.alkalinecookbook.com.au
P.S. This magic herb can increase your libido and it is loaded with mood-enhancing phytochemicals and nutrients that increase your energie levels, gives you clear mental concentration, puts a smile on your face and makes you feel super happy which radiates from the inside out. Its mood-enhancing qualities gives you an euphoric feeling making you feel positive, confident and happy.
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