Lepidium Meyenii

How To Make It

Yam Eating Kings

Many men and women who use Maca often notice a 
difference in their energy and sexual performance after 
one week! In men, Maca is used to improve impotence, 
restore libido and serves as an aphrodisiac. Maca 
also enhances female libido, helps promote sexual 
functioning, insures vaginal lubrication, and in general 
brings about all the benefits of healthy balanced hormone 
levels in the body.



Maca is a hardy perennial plant cultivated high in the Andean Mountain at altitudes from 
11,000-14,500 feet. It has one of the highest frost tolerances among native cultivated 
species. It has a low-growing, mat-like stem system which at times goes unnoticed in a 
farmer's field. Its scalloped leaves lie close to the ground and it produces self-fertile 
small off-white flowers typical to the mustard family which it belongs to. The part used is 
the tuberous root which is pear shaped, up to 8 cm in diameter and off-white in color. 
Unlike many other tuberous plants, Maca is propagated by seed. Although it is a perennial,
it is grown as an annual, and 7-9 months from planting are required to produce the harvested
roots. The area where Maca is found high in the Andes is an inhospitable region of intense 
sunlight, violent winds and below freezing weather. With its extreme temperatures and poor
rocky soil, the area rates among the world's worst farmland, yet over the centuries, 
Maca learned to flourish under these conditions. Maca was domesticated about 2000 years ago
by the Inca Indians and primitive cultivars of Maca have been found in archaeological sites
dating as far back as 1600 B.C. 



To the Andean Indians, Maca is a valuable commodity. Because so little else grows in the
region, Maca is often traded with communities at lower elevations for other staples like 
rice, corn, and beans. The dried roots can be stored for up to seven years. Native Peruvians
have traditionally utilized Maca since before the time of the Incas for both nutritional and
medicinal purposes Maca is an important staple in the diets of the people indigenous to the
region since it has the highest nutritional value of any food crop grown there. It is rich
in sugars, protein, starches, and essential minerals, especially iodine and iron. The tuber
is consumed fresh or dried. The fresh roots are considered a treat and are baked or roasted
in ashes much like sweet potatoes. The dried roots are stored and later boiled in water or 
fermented drink called maca chicha. In Huancayo, Peru, even Maca jam and pudding are
popular. The tuberous roots have a tangy taste and an aroma similar to butterscotch. 


Maca has been used medicinally for centuries to enhance fertility in humans and animals. 
Soon after the Spanish Conquest in the South America, the Spanish found that their livestock
were reproducing poorly in the highlands. The local Indians recommended feeding the animals
Maca and so remarkable were the results that Spanish chroniclers gave in-depth reports. 
Even Colonial records of some 200 years ago indicate that payments of roughly 9 tons of Maca
were demanded from one Andean area alone for this purpose. Its fertility enhancing
properties were supported clinically as early as 1961, when researchers discovered it
increased the fertility of rats. This energizing plant is also referred to as Peruvian
ginseng, although Maca is not in the same family as ginseng. 

The nutritional value of dried Maca root is high, resembling cereal grains such as maize,
rice and wheat. It has 59% carbohydrates, 10.2% protein, 8.5% fiber and 2.2% lipids. It has
a large amount of essential amino acids and higher levels of iron and calcium than potatoes.
Maca contains important amounts of fatty acids including linolenic, palmitic and oleic 
acids. It is rich in sterols and has a high mineral content as well. In addition to its rich
supply of essential nutrients, Maca contains alkaloids, tannins and saponins. A chemical 
analysis conducted in 1981 showed the presence of biologically active aromatic 
isothiocyanates, especially p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate, which have reputed aphrodisiac 
properties. Initial analysis of Maca indicate that the effects on fertility are a result of
the glucosinolates. Alkaloids are also present, but have not yet been quantified.

Maca is growing in world popularity due to its energizing effects, fertility enhancement and
aphrodisiac qualities. Other traditional uses include increasing energy, stamina and 
endurance in athletes, promoting mental clarity, treating male impotence, and helping with 
menstrual irregularities and female hormonal imbalances including menopause and chronic 
fatigue syndrome. It is used as an alternative to anabolic steroids by bodybuilders due to 
its richness in sterols. Today, dried Maca roots are ground to powder and sold in drug 
stores in capsules as a medicine and food supplement to increase stamina and fertility. In 
Peruvian herbal medicine, Maca is also used as an immunostimulant, for anemia, tuberculosis,
menstrual disorders, menopause symptoms, stomach cancer, sterility and other reproductive 
and sexual disorders as well as to enhance memory. 
The cultivation of Maca is increasing in the highlands of the Andes to meet the growing
demand world wide for medicinal uses. In this severely economically depressed region, the 
market created for Maca will offer new and important sources of income for the Indigenous 
Peoples of the Andes. A new cultivar of Maca has been identified in the major growing 
regions of the highlands which will supply much of this new demand and it has been named 
Lepidium peruvianum Chacon sp.