Maca
Common name
N/A
ID
HD0196
Scientific name of the plant
Lepidium meyenii, Lepidium peruvianum
Anatomical part for use
root
Human use
Circulatory disorders
Summary
Lepidium meyenii, known as maca or Peruvian ginseng, is an edible herbaceous biennial plant of the family Brassicaceae that is native to South America in the high Andes mountains of Peru. It was found exclusively at the Meseta de Bombón plateau close to Lake Junin in the late 1980s. It is grown for its fleshy hypocotyl that is fused with a taproot, which is typically dried, but may also be freshly cooked as a root vegetable. If it is dried, it may be further processed into a flour for baking or as a dietary supplement. It also has uses in traditional medicine. As a cash crop, it is primarily exported as a powder that may be raw, or processed further by the supplement industry: gelatinized or made into an extract.
Its Spanish and Quechua names include maca-maca, maino, ayak chichira, and ayak willku. (Source: Wiki)
Evidence Level
Level 0 (No convinced report of liver injury caused by herbal and dietary supplement)
Hepatotoxicity Description
In small clinical trials, maca extracts have been reported to be safe, well tolerated and with only minor, transient adverse effects. There have been no convincing reports linking maca to liver injury, either in the form of transient serum enzyme elevations during therapy or clinically apparent acute liver injury. As an herbal supplement, however, maca has had limited use. (Source: LiverTox)
Common name
N/A
ID
HD0196
Scientific name of the plant
Lepidium meyenii, Lepidium peruvianum
Anatomical part for use
root
Human use
Circulatory disorders
Summary
Lepidium meyenii, known as maca or Peruvian ginseng, is an edible herbaceous biennial plant of the family Brassicaceae that is native to South America in the high Andes mountains of Peru. It was found exclusively at the Meseta de Bombón plateau close to Lake Junin in the late 1980s. It is grown for its fleshy hypocotyl that is fused with a taproot, which is typically dried, but may also be freshly cooked as a root vegetable. If it is dried, it may be further processed into a flour for baking or as a dietary supplement. It also has uses in traditional medicine. As a cash crop, it is primarily exported as a powder that may be raw, or processed further by the supplement industry: gelatinized or made into an extract. Its Spanish and Quechua names include maca-maca, maino, ayak chichira, and ayak willku. (Source: Wiki)
Evidence Level
Level 0 (No convinced report of liver injury caused by herbal and dietary supplement)
Hepatotoxicity Description
In small clinical trials, maca extracts have been reported to be safe, well tolerated and with only minor, transient adverse effects. There have been no convincing reports linking maca to liver injury, either in the form of transient serum enzyme elevations during therapy or clinically apparent acute liver injury. As an herbal supplement, however, maca has had limited use. (Source: LiverTox)