US EPA

1160897 

Journal Article 

Investigation of the tuber constituents of maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp) 

Piacente, S; Carbone, V; Plaza, A; Zampelli, A; Pizza, C 

2002 

Yes 

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
ISSN: 0021-8561
EISSN: 1520-5118 

50 

20 

5621-5625 

English 

12236688 

10.1021/jf020280x 

WOS:000178122300019 

Lepidium meyenii, known in South America as maca, has received attention worldwide as a powerful energizer that improves physical and mental conditions and increases fertility. Because of these reports, we investigated the secondary metabolites of the tuber of maca. The methanol extract of the tuber of maca contained, in addition to free sugars and amino acids, the following: uridine, malic acid and its benzoyl derivative, and the glucosinolates, glucotropaeolin and m-methoxyglucotropaeolin. Because glucosinolates and their derived products have received increasing attention due to their biological activities, the occurrence of glucosinolate degradation products in the hexane extract was also investigated, and benzylisothiocyanate and its m-methoxy derivative were isolated. The two glucosinolates were semiquantified by HPLC, and benzylisothiocyanate was semiquantified by GC/MS. The methanol extract of maca tuber also contained (1R,3S)-1-methyltetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid, a molecule which is reported to exert many activities on the central nervous system. 

Lepidium meyenii; maca; Brassicaceae; glucosinolates; methyltetrahydro-beta carboline 3-carboxylic acid