Planta Med 2010; 76 - P59
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1251821

Metabolic Profiling of Maca (Lepidium meyenii) Cultivars using NMR and Multivariate Data Analysis

J Zhao 1, B Avula 1, C Clément 3, M Kreuzera 3, IA Khan 1, 2
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 3ETH Zurich, Department of Agricultural and Food Science, Universitaetstrasse 2, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Maca, Lepidium meyenii Walpers (Family Brassicaceae), a perennial herbaceous plant found on high plateaus of the Andean mountain area in Peru, is an important staple for the Andean Indians and indigenous peoples.[1] Maca is reputed with properties of sexual enhancement and fertility improvement, as well as other effectiveness such as immunostimulation, antidepressant and anticancer. It is so called as „Peruvian ginseng“. Currently, a wide array of commercial maca products are gaining popularity as dietary supplements throughout the world. The cultivation of maca is increasing in the highlands of the Andes to meet the growing demand worldwide. Different maca cultivars with different colored roots and wild species have been found in Peru. Interestingly, it has been observed that different varieties of Maca have different biological properties.[2] NMR-based Metabolomics is emerging as a potential technology to provide better insight into the qualitative and quantitative shifts in metabolite patterns of the organism.[3] We reported here the investigation of the maca varieties collected from Peru by using NMR profiling and chemometric analysis.

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Acknowledgments: This research is supported in part by „Science Based Authentication of Dietary Supplements“ and „Botanical Dietary Supplement Research“ funded by the Food and Drug Administration grant numbers 5U01FD002071–09 and 1U01FD003871–01, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Specific Cooperative Agreement No. 58–6408–2-0009. References: [1] Quiros CF, Cardenas RA, (1997) Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.), in Andean Roots and Tubers: Ahipa, Arracacha, Maca and Yacon, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, 173–198. [2] Gonzales GF (2006) In Natural Products: in Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants. Edited by: Singh VK, Bhardwaj R, Govil JN, Sharma RK. Studium Press LLC, USA 217. [3] Kruger NJ, Troncoso-Ponce MA, Ratcliffe RG (2008) Nat Protoc 3(6): 1001–1012.