Maca (plant)

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Maca
Maca tubers (Lepidium meyenii)

Maca tubers ( Lepidium meyenii )

Systematics
Eurosiden II
Order : Cruciferous (Brassicales)
Family : Cruciferous vegetables (Brassicaceae)
Tribe : Lepidieae
Genre : Cress ( Lepidium )
Type : Maca
Scientific name
Lepidium meyenii
Walp.
Lepidium meyenii leaves and flowers
Lepidium meyenii

The Maca plant or Peru Ginseng ( Lepidium meyenii , Syn .: Lepidium peruvianum ) belongs to the genus of the cress ( Lepidium ) in the family of the cruciferous plants (Brassicaceae). It is native to the Peruvian regions of Moquegua and Puno . Maca has been grown in the upper elevations of the Peruvian Andes for around 2000 years and is used as a food and medicinal plant.

description

Appearance, tuber and leaf

The plant grows as a biennial or rarely annual herbaceous plant and reaches stature heights of only about 20 centimeters. As an adaptation to strong winds, it grows in flat mats.

As storage organs fleshy be hypocotyl - tubers formed are pear-shaped with a length of 2 to 5 or 10 to 14 centimeters and a diameter of 3 to 5 centimeter and contained a lot of water. The colors (white, yellow, pink to red) and other characteristics of the Maca varieties differ.

The up to twenty lying obscure-lanceolate leaves , with up to 20 cm long stems, arise in rosettes at the roots. The leaves are doubly pinnate and somewhat lyre-shaped, with fleshy plumage .

Inflorescence and flower

The paniculate total inflorescences appear first in the center of the rosette and later on the generative shoots with reduced, lobed leaves and are composed of 1 to 2, rarely up to 5 centimeters long, racemose partial inflorescences. A generative shoot can have up to 1000 flowers. The first flowers can also appear individually on the rachis . The short-stalked, hermaphrodite flowers are radially symmetrical and four-fold. The four green, concave sepals are egg-shaped. The four petals are creamy white. There is self-fertilization . There are only two to three fertile stamens and several staminodes. The yellow anthers open with a longitudinal slit. At the base of the upper ovary with a short stylus there are four green nectaries , two on each side of the stamens.

Fruit and seeds

The 4 to 5 mm long and 2.5 mm wide pods open with two wedge-shaped flaps, each containing only one seed. The grayish to orange-brown, smooth, flattened and furrowed seeds are egg-shaped with a length of 2 to 2.5 mm.

The plant is very frost-resistant and grows up to an altitude of 4400 meters.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 64.

ingredients

The maca tuber contains proteins , iron , zinc , magnesium , calcium , carbohydrates , phosphorus , sugar , starches, minerals and a number of vitamins .

There are also various secondary plant substances in the tuber. First and foremost, these are mustard oil glycosides (glucotropaeolin). Also imidazole - alkaloids (lepidiline), polyunsaturated fatty acids (macaenes), benzylated amide (Macamide) and steroids (such as β-sitosterol ) were detected.

Cultivation

The Maca plant is exposed to extreme climatic conditions: strong temperature fluctuations, continuously strong winds and intense UV radiation due to the altitude. Overall, Maca is a robust plant with high resistance.

Maca was originally grown in a limited area of ​​the Peruvian Andes around Lake Junín , at altitudes between 4000 and 4400 meters. The plant is still grown in its traditional range today. The plant draws the necessary nutrients from the volcanic soil (high content of minerals and trace elements ). Therefore, the plant can be planted without fertilizer in the first seed . The second sowing is only fertilized with natural llama or sheep manure. As soon as the second seed is fully grown and harvested, the field lies fallow for up to 8 years. As with all representatives of the Brassicaceae , Maca is also afflicted by the causative agent of the cabbage hernia. A wide crop rotation is the only effective way to combat the disease. The cultivation time is the Peruvian spring (corresponds roughly to European October ). The harvest takes place in July / August. Maca is now industrially grown and processed in the Chinese province of Yunnan. The world heritage city of Lijiang , famous for its historic old town, is the center of the cultivation. Around 100,000 people are employed in it and in 2014 were already producing maca products worth around € 600 million. According to the results of the Yunnan Agriculture University in Kunming, the “miracle plant” grows optimally at altitudes of 2800 to 3500 m and temperatures of 5 to 10 ° C.

use

Use as food

The sweet-tasting tubers are eaten. They can be baked slowly or after drying they can be boiled and made into a sweet, aromatic porridge called mazamorra in South America . The nutritional value of dried maca tubers is high, comparable to that of corn, rice and wheat. It contains 59% carbohydrates, 10.2% proteins, 8.5% fiber and 2.2% lipids . They are characterized by a high proportion of essential amino acids, and the proportion of iron and calcium is higher than in potatoes. Maca tubers contain high levels of fatty acids, such as linolenic , palmitic and oleic acids . They are rich in sterols and minerals. The dried tubers contain 13 to 16% protein and are rich in essential amino acids. Fresh tubers usually have a high proportion of iodine and iron and also small amounts of alkaloids , tannins and saponins . Dried tubers store ingredients well, e.g. 7-year-old tubers still contain 9 to 10% protein. Dried tubers are brown, soft, and sweet with a musky taste that lingers for at least two years. Young leaves are eaten raw or cooked. They have a sharp taste reminiscent of cress .

Health related use

The Maca root is said to have positive effects on physical performance and mental resilience. According to clinical studies, this effect is not due to an endocrinological, i.e. H. attributed to the hormone formation influencing effect; a change in hormone levels could not be observed in humans. However, there appears to be a positive effect on sexual dysfunction. Dietary supplements containing maca powder have been marketed as natural sexual enhancers in Europe and the USA for some time. As with many other remedies of this type, these effects have only been partially scientifically proven.

The intake of commercially available food supplements is well below the nutritional intake of the Andean people. The dried tuber powder is used almost exclusively.

The Peruvian scientist Gustavo Gonzales gave twelve men between the ages of 20 and 40 years of maca for three months and then examined their fertility . After just two weeks, he was able to determine an average doubling of the sperm count. At the same time, more male hormones were produced, and the subjects swore that their sexual desire had increased significantly.

The neurologist Fernando Cabieses , who also examined the potency-enhancing effects of Maca, found that the plant not only increases erectile function, but also increases the general drive to engage in sexual activity in the long term.

Taxonomy

The first description of Lepidium meyenii was made in 1843 by Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers in Novorum Actorum Academiae Caesareae Leopoldinae-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum , 19, 1, p 249. synonyms for Lepidium meyenii Walp. are: Lepidium affine Ledeb. , Lepidium affine Wedd. , Lepidium gelidum Wedd. , Lepidium marginatum Griseb. , Lepidium meyenii subsp. gelidum (Wedd.) Thell. , Lepidium meyenii subsp. marginatum (Griseb.) Thell. , Lepidium meyenii var. Affine (Wedd.) Thell. , Lepidium meyenii var. Gelidum (Wedd.) Hosseus , Lepidium orbignyanum Wedd. , Lepidium peruvianum G.Chacón , Lepidium weddellii J.F. Macbr. , Lepidium weddellii O.E. Schulz .

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Maca ( Lepidium meyenii )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Lepidium meyenii in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Authors: Nicolas Dostert, José Roque, Asunción Cano, María I. La Torre & Maximilian Weigend; Translation: Frederico Luebert Factsheet Botanical Data: de Maca Lepidium meyenii Walp (PDF; 651 kB), at San Marcos National University - Museum of Natural History, 2009.
  3. ^ A b c Gustavo F. Gonzales: Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacology of Lepidium meyenii (Maca), a Plant from the Peruvian Highlands. In: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Volume 2012, 2012, Article ID 193496, 10 pages, full text online . . doi: 10.1155 / 2012/193496 .
  4. ↑ Data sheet Maca (Lepidium meyenii) at Tropical Plant Database .
  5. ↑ a b Lepidium meyenii at Plants For A Future . Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  6. ^ M. Hermann, J. Heller: Andean Roots and Tubers: Ahipa, Arracacha, Maca and Yacon.
  7. ↑ a b c T. K. Lim: Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9, Springer, 2015, ISBN 978-94-017-9510-4 , pp. 801–828.
  8. ↑ D. Fuccillo, L. Sears, P. Stapleton: Biodiversity in Trust. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-521-59365-6 , p. 48.
  9. ^ M. Hermann, T. Bernet: The transition of maca from neglect to market prominence: Lessons for improving use strategies and market chains of minor crops. In: Agricultural Biodiversity and Livelihoods Discussion Papers. 1, 2009, Bioversity International, Rome, Italy, 107 pages, ISBN 978-92-9043-800-7 . (PDF) .
  10. ↑ Cultivation and production. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 16, 2017 ; accessed on April 15, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.maca-welt.de
  11. ↑ Yang Wanli, Li Yingqing: Farmers look to tap root's growing appeal. In: Chinadaily. from November 16, 2015.
  12. ↑ Ternes, Täufel, Tunger, Zobel: Food Lexicon. Behr's Verlag, 2005, p. 1115, ISBN 978-3-89947-165-6 .
  13. ^ NA Brooks, G. Wilcox, KZ Walker, JF Ashton, MB Cox, L. Stojanovska: Beneficial effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on psychological symptoms and measures of sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women are not related to estrogen or androgen content. In: menopause . Volume 15, 6, 2008, pp. 1157-62, doi: 10.1097 / gme.0b013e3181732953 , PMID 18784609 .
  14. ↑ Risk assessment of maca-containing food supplements (PDF; 151 kB) BfR opinion on maca.
  15. ↑ Fernando Cabieses: La Maca y la puna. Universidad de San Martín de Porres, 1997, ISBN 978-9972-54-036-3 (Spanish).
  16. ^ Lepidium meyenii at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed May 25, 2013.