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Maca (Lepidium meyenii, Lepidium peruvianum) is part of the Brassicaceae family and grows at high altitudes in the Peruvian Andes mountain range (3500–5000 m). Historically, it has been used as a nutrient-dense food and for its medicinal properties, primarily in enhancing energy and fertility. Scientific research has validated these traditional uses and other clinical applications by elucidating maca's mechanisms of action, nutrition, and phytochemical content. However, research over the last twenty years has identified up to seventeen different colors (phenotypes) of maca. The color, hypocotyl size, growing location, cultivation, and post-harvest processing methods can have a significant effect on the nutrition content, phytochemical profile, and clinical application. Yet, research differentiating the colors of maca and clinical applications remains limited. In this review, research on the nutrition, phytochemicals, and various colors of maca, including black, red, yellow (predominant colors), purple, gray (lesser-known colors), and any combination of colors, including proprietary formulations, will be discussed based on available preclinical and clinical trials. The gaps, deficiencies, and conflicts in the studies will be detailed, along with quality, safety, and efficacy criteria, highlighting the need for future research to specify all these factors of the maca used in publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to present the fingerprint of different Lepidium peruvianum tuber extracts showing glucosinolates-containing substances possibly playing an important role in preventinting dementia and other memory disorders. Different phenotypes of Lepidium peruvianum (Brassicaceae) tubers were analysed for their glucosinolate profile using a liquid chromatograph coupled with mass spectrometer (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS platform). Qualitative analysis in 50% ethanolic extracts confirmed the presence of ten compounds: aliphatic, indolyl, and aromatic glucosinolates, with glucotropaeolin being the leading one, detected at levels between 0–1.57% depending on phenotype, size, processing, and collection site. The PCA analysis showed important variations in glucosinolate content between the samples and different ratios of the detected compounds. Applied in vitro activity tests confirmed inhibitory properties of extracts and single glucosinolates against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (15.3–28.9% for the extracts and 55.95–57.60% for individual compounds) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) (71.3–77.2% for the extracts and 36.2–39.9% for individual compounds). The molecular basis for the activity of glucosinolates was explained through molecular docking studies showing that the tested metabolites interacted with tryptophan and histidine residues of the enzymes, most likely blocking their active catalytic side. Based on the obtained results and described mechanism of action, it could be concluded that glucosinolates exhibit inhibitory properties against two cholinesterases present in the synaptic cleft, which indicates that selected phenotypes of L. peruvianum tubers cultivated under well-defined environmental and ecological conditions may present a valuable plant material to be considered for the development of therapeutic products with memory-stimulating properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Glucosinolates in Maca (L. peruvianum syn. L. meyenii) grown in Peru and China. • Glucotropaeolin (GLCT) and m-metoxyGLCT (MGLCT) profiles, contents and ratios. • No MGLCT detected in Maca phenotypes cultivated in Shangri-La, China. • Red coloured Maca hypocotyls found only in Peru-grown Maca crops. HPLC glucosinolate (GCSN) profiles and concentration levels were examined in hypocotyls of the four prime Maca phenotypes (Lepidium peruvianum synonym L. meyenii) labelled as "Yellow", "Black", "Red" and "Purple", grown in Peru (Pe) and/or China (Cn). In Trial I, glucotropaeolin (GLCT) and m-methoxyglucotropaeolin (MGLCT) content, and their ratios, was determined in commercial Maca products of Pe origin and compared with similar products declared as of Cn origin. In Trial II , Maca was propagated and cultivated either in Ancash – Peru, according to a traditional single stage planting system, or in Shangri-La – Cn, applying a two-stage Maca planting procedure adopted by Maca growers in Yunnan. Irrespective of the phenotype, in the Pe cultivation system, cylindrical elongated and pointed Maca hypocotyls (H) were harvested in the mixed crop, while disfigured Maca tubers resembling "ginseng-type root" (G) were predominant in the crop harvested in Cn. Two peaks of GLCT and MGLCT were detected in all analysed hypocotyls of the four Maca phenotypes grown in Pe, but only one peak (GLCT) was detected in the Maca phenotypes grown in Shangri-La, Cn. Significantly higher GLCT values were detected in all the Maca phenotypes grown in Cn than in Pe (P < 0.05), with the highest content recorded in the Black and Purple H-shaped while MGLCT was the highest in Yellow G-shaped Cn Maca tubers. Cn-made "Chinese Maca tablets" contained both GLCT and MGLCT. This indicates that Maca imported from Pe could have been used in the formulation - a fact which was subsequently confirmed by the manufacturer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]