Dallas Morning News -
January 6, 2002
"Peruvians
believe Maca plant is root of many good things"
Hardy, Radish-like Species Prized as
Source of Sexual
Stamina. By Craig Mauro
Associated
Press
LIMA, Peru -
It's small and looks like a radish.Many Peruvians consider the
root an alternative to ginseng and Viagra.
Frost-resistant Maca
grows in the frigid Andean highlands. Peruvian Maca has been used in
this South American country for centuries to boost stamina and sex
drive.
Archaeologists have discovered traces
of maca cultivation at sites dating back 2,000 years in the central
Andes, where the plant thrives naturally at 13,000 feet above sea
level.
Spanish conquistadors are said to have
accepted bushels of the protein-rich root from local communities
during the 16th century as tax payments. Chroniclers also reported
that Peru's various pre-Hispanic groups bartered with maca, used it
for peace offerings and offered it to their mountain and sun gods.
Today, Peruvians eat maca fresh, dried,
boiled into porridge or ground into powder and mixed with water or
milk in a drink that tastes somewhat like butterscotch with an
earthy aftertaste.
Just as the Incas did
centuries ago, many Peruvians swear by maca's energizing and
aphrodisiacal powers. It is also touted as a tonic for a host of
other health problems, including post-menopause syndrome and stress.
For scientists, the jury is still out.
Nutritionists say the root packs a powerful
dose of ammo acids, vitamins and minerals, particularly magnesium
and phosphorous. But no major independent studies have been
published about its effects.
"It's still what
you call an alternative medicine," says Dr. Alberto Tejada, a
urologist for the Fertility Institute in Lima.
"What we do know is that it is energizing,
that it increases sexual stimulus, that it improves the disposition
toward sexual activity and improves mood, "he
says.
Hersil, a Peruvian pharmaceutical
company that plans to market maca-based tablets internationally,
says small-scale research, it financed at Peru's Cayetano Heredia
University, found that maca increased men's sex drive and sperm
counts.
Dr. Fernando Cabieses, a neurologist
who for two decades has studied Peru's treasure trove of medicinal
plants, supervised the study, which involved 60 volunteers who were
divided into two groups. One group took maca tablets for 12 weeks,
the other placebos.
"It's a very interesting
study, with interesting results, which need to be corroborated by
other scientific groups to see if this repeats," Dr. Cabieses
says.
Jose Luis Silva, Hersil's assistant
general manager, sees opportunities for maca to compete for some of
the $2 billion now spent around the world each year on ginseng, a
root highly prized in Asia for its energy-giving and curative
properties.
Overseas sales would be a boon
for this impoverished nation's rural farmers, many of whom eke out
livings in rugged countryside.
Maca could be just the beginning,
Peruvians hope. Dozens of native plants are used as natural
medicines by indigenous people.
Among those
herbal medicines is mashua, a root that is said to inhibit sex
drive. It was reputedly given to Inca warriors to help keep them
focused on battle. Today, Peruvian women are said to slip mashua
into their husbands' meals before extended business trips so their
minds focus solely on business.
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