COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT.-
Common Name: Maca
Scientific Name: Lepidium
Meyenii
Family: Crucifers
English Name: Maca
I.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT.-
It belongs to the Crucifer
family. It is an herbaceous plant of approximately
30cm in height; its leaves are green and grow in the
upper part of the tuber. Maca has a tuber that
ranges in color from yellowish to light purple,
violet to black. It is very similar in shape to a
turnip, from 1 to 3 cm. in length and 1 to 5 cm in
diameter. The upper part of the tuber is flat, from
which center sprouts the crown and leafy stalks. The
lower part of the tuber is conic, and it extends
into a long, wide and strong rootlet. (1)
-
HABITAT:
Maca is native to, and
grows in the High Andes of Peru, especially in the
Junin Pampa (plateau). It can only grow at heights
above 12,500 ft above sea level and in an
environment that is cold, with strong winds and
intense solar exposure. It grows along steppes and
rocky cliffs, in soil rich in minerals.
Maca
II.
HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONAL USE.-
The archeological evidence of
maca cultivation dates to approximately 8,000 BCE.
During the Inca Empire, maca cultivation was
destined exclusively for use of the Royal family.
This is known through the different Spanish
chronicles of the times that tell aspects of maca,
such as its cultivation, properties, ceremonies and
rituals. According to the chronicles from the 16th
and 17th centuries, the Inca troops were
fed maca rations, because the plant was given the
attributes of giving virility and physical fortitude
to the soldiers. “Los indigenas la daban de comer a
los guerreros para aumentar su combatividad en las
batallas” [The natives gave it to eat to the
soldiers to augment their combativeness in battles]
(2).
Dr. Joseph Lluis Berdonces refers
to maca in the context of Peruvian popular medicine
as the true vegetable energizer “… for its qualities
as a tonic, aphrodisiac and anti-aging; the very
same qualities why the Inca took maca to conserve
vigor and tone.” (2)
Traditionally, and in actuality,
maca is used as food and medicine by the native
peoples of the Andes, using it as an ingredient in
Peruvian culinary arts and in naturalist medicine.
It has become known internationally for its multiple
qualities and properties, including its surprising
composition of vitamins and minerals and for its
effects related to sexual and fertility issues.
In Peruvian medicine, many
doctors recommend the use of maca as a helper food
to alleviate the stress associated with menopause
and post-menopause and to augment energy and
maintain equilibrium in the pancreatic and thyroidal
systems. Also, because of the high content of
vitamins, minerals and alkaloids, the peoples of the
Andean zones where maca grows (high altitude, lower
oxygen levels) use maca for tonic and energizing
qualities for both body and mind.
III.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.-
Maca is renowned for its protein
content (15%), carbohydrates (60% - 65%) and its
richness in amino acids (18, 7 of them essential).
It has vitamins A, C, E and the B Group, alkaloids.
(macains, macaridine, macamides) and fatty acids (lauric,
miristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic,
arachidonic, lignoceric), sterols (campisterol,
estigmasterol, sitosterol, brassicasterol and
ergosterol) and glucosinolates (benzyl-isoto-cyanate,
and p-metoxibenzyl), triterpenes and steroidal
saporines, poliphenolic compounds, tanines and
flavonoids. In minerals, contains especially a high
level of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium,
iron, potassium, zinc, iodine, copper, bismuth,
manganese, silica and fiber (9-10%)(3)
(1)
… Jorge Leon. Plantas
Alimenticias Andinas. Instituto Interamericano de
Ciencias Agricolas, Zona Andina. Lima, Peru.
(2)
… Dr. Joseph Lluis
Berdonces. Las plantas medicinales del Peru.
Fitomedica 25, Barcelona, 1999.
…
Dr. Joseph Lluis Berdonces. La maca. El Viagra
Vegetal. Vital 23, Barcelona, 2000.
(3)
… Dr. Ricardo Gampel.
La maa (Lepidium Meyenii), algo mas que un alimento.
IX Jornada de Fitoterapia y Etnobotanica, Madrid,
mayo 2005.
…
Dr. Ricardo Gampel. La Maca mejora la salud sexual.
Dietetica y Salud 107, Barcelona 2005
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