Magnificent Maca

Maca is a cruciferous vegetable in the similar botanical family as cabbage, mustard, broccoli and kale (Brassicaceae). It is refined in the central Andes Mountains of Peru at elevations between 11,500 and 15,000 feet. Few other crops will stand the harsh ecosystem in which maca thrives: rocky, acidic soil, high winds, great temperatures and high altitudes.

Perhaps it is the cruel conditions to which it is adapted that give maca root its sole biochemistry. This turnip-like vegetable contains a range of over a dozen different amino acids and contains anti-oxidant vitamins C and E as well as vitamins B1, B2 and B12. Maca is also tall in bone-strengthening minerals such as calcium and magnesium, plus iron, zinc, silicon, potassium and extra trace minerals.

Maca’s high nutritional content may explain several of its beneficial effects on the reproductive system, nervous system and metabolism. Maca has usually been used by the people of the Andes as an overall health tonic, to raise energy and stamina, to improve fertility, and as an aphrodisiac.

Modern clinical investigate has mainly focused on maca’s sexual enhancement and, although scientific research is inconclusive, historical and anecdotal evidence powerfully supports maca’s use as an aphrodisiac and for sexual health by both men and women. In Peru, maca is used topically for maintaining reproductive health, treating hormonal imbalance and weakness, alleviating the symptoms of menopause, and for menstrual disorders.

According to usual Peruvian use, maca is reputed to improve alertness and memory. It is also used as an adaptogen and as an immunostimulant (to stimulate the immune system). In addition, Peruvians use maca to treat anemia, boost energy, rouse metabolism, and eliminate fatigue. Legend has it that through the times of Tawantinsuyo, Inca warriors would consume maca before going into fight in order to increase their power and endurance. Maca is also used by Peruvians for the treatment of conditions such as depression, stomach cancer, leukemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatism, constipation and tuberculosis.

Farming of maca in Peru requires a ten year crop rotation plan. Because maca draws such a rich array of minerals from the already delicate soil of the Andes, each field is used for the cultivation of maca only once each ten years to allow the soil to refill itself. A world-wide raise in demand for maca has led to a drastic increase in its cultivation, so sustainable enlargement is a concern.

Another issue is the principled application of traditional knowledge. An American corporation, Pure World Botanicals, has patented an alcohol take out of maca, MacaPure, which is made in a way quite alike to a traditional extraction method used by Peruvians. This patent is not currently documented in Peru, but it could prevent Peruvian extracts from being imported to the United States or other countries where Pure World’s patent is recognized. Essentially, this would make it so that this exacting corporation would be the sole profiteer from the sales of a medicinal training which has been used by Peruvians for centuries!