- Region
- South America
- Origin
- High Andes of Peru (around Lake Junín) and Bolivia
South America · Food · № 32
Lepidium meyenii
Food · South America
Maca
Lepidium meyenii
A root crop eaten as food. Claims about fertility and energy are unproven.
Safety notes
Supplements and extracts differ from traditional cooked food use. Ask for advice during pregnancy or when taking medicines.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Healing traditions of the Americas: Raw powder is not eaten in the Andes.
- Kallawaya healing in Bolivia: A missing period and childlessness need a doctor. Not in pregnancy.
Preparation
Traditionally always cooked: roasted in an earth oven (huatia) or boiled into a sweet, thick drink or porridge.
Use in traditions
Archaeological evidence points to cultivation around Lake Junín between about 1700 BCE and 1200 CE. Maca was traded for lowland crops; until the late 1980s it was grown only in a small area. When maca then became popular worldwide, foreign companies applied for patents on maca extracts. Since 2004 Peru has had a commission against biopiracy that challenges such patents because they rest on traditional knowledge.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Healing traditions of the Americas
Attributed effects
A cooked food at high altitude and, according to tradition, good for the strength and fertility of people and livestock.
Preparation and amount
Always boiled or roasted: in an earth oven (huatia), as a porridge or a sweet drink.
Caution: Raw powder is not eaten in the Andes.
Kallawaya healing in Bolivia
Attributed effects
To bring on a late period, and by women who want to conceive.
Preparation and amount
Boil fresh tubers and lay them as a warm poultice on the belly, or boil slices and drink the liquid.
Caution: A missing period and childlessness need a doctor. Not in pregnancy.