MacaLepidium meyenii

Did you know?

• Maca fields in central Peru lie at 13,000 to 14,800 feet above sea level^{[3, 6]}.

• Archaeologists have found early cultivated maca at Andean sites dating back more than 3,500 years^[5].

• In Spanish colonial times, maca was valuable enough to be used as currency^[5].

• Andean farmers sort maca by the color of its root: cream-yellow, red, purple and black^{[5, 6]}.

• Dried maca roots keep for years^[5].

• The first written record of maca dates from 1553, when the Spanish chronicler Cieza de León noted that the people of the high Bombón plateau, today's Junín, lived on certain roots: maca^[11].

Origins and history

Maca is a small plant grown for its swollen underground part: strictly, the root fused with the lower stem, called the hypocotyl, about 4 to 5.5 inches long^[5]. It is farmed high in the central Andes of Peru, at 4,000 to 4,500 meters^{[3, 6]}, and the species grows wild from Peru into Bolivia, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina^[1]. It was probably first domesticated on the Junín plateau, near present-day Ondores^[11]. The botanist Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers gave it its scientific name, Lepidium meyenii, in 1843^[2]. It belongs to the mustard family, alongside cabbage, broccoli, radish and turnip^{[1, 4]}.

People have grown maca for a very long time. Archaeological sites in the Andes hold early cultivated forms of the plant dating back more than 3,500 years^[5]. The Incas grew maca as a food and also used it in religious ceremonies^[13]. The Spanish soon took note: in 1553 the chronicler Cieza de León wrote that the people of the Bombón plateau lived on certain roots, which were maca, and a century later Father Cobo, the first to write down the name maca, described it growing where no other food plant could^[11]. In colonial times native people even used maca as currency^[5]. Fresh roots are cooked in pachamancas, earth ovens lined with hot stones, and dried roots keep their quality for years^{[5, 11]}. The dried roots are as hard as stone, so they are boiled in water or milk until soft, and a drink made this way is the most common way to take maca in the Andes^{[11, 12]}.

Growers recognize several color types, from cream-yellow to red, purple and black, and the types differ slightly in their plant compounds^{[5, 6]}. Some maca is gelatinized before it is milled: cooked with heat and moisture, which gelatinizes the root's starch^{[6, 9]}.

Traditional uses

Maca has a long history as food and a growing body of research in people: placebo-controlled trials in Peru and elsewhere have looked at its effects on energy, mood and libido^{[6, 7]}.

• A staple of the high Andes

  For centuries maca has been a mainstay of the diet on the cold high plateaus where it grows: cooked fresh in earth ovens, or dried, stored and boiled in water or milk^{[3, 5, 6, 11, 12]}.

• Energy and stamina

  Maca has a long reputation for energy and strength^[8]. In a 12-week placebo-controlled study of 175 adults in Peru, most people taking red maca reported more energy^[6]. Maca supports energy and stamina.*

• A balanced mood

  In the same study, most people taking maca reported a better mood^[6]. Maca supports a balanced mood.*

• Healthy libido

  A systematic review of clinical trials found positive effects on sexual desire in healthy men^{[7, 8]}. Maca supports healthy libido.*

Plant compounds

Maca root contains glucosinolates, mainly benzyl glucosinolate (also called glucotropaeolin)^{[5, 8]}, and macamides, a group of compounds found in maca^{[5, 6, 8]}. As a root vegetable it is mostly carbohydrate, much of it as polysaccharides^[8].