Title
Evaluación nutricional de Lepidium meyenii (MACA) en ratones albinos y su descendencia
Other title
Nutritional evaluation of Lepidium meyenii (MACA) in albino mice and their descendant
Date Issued
01 June 2000
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
review
Publisher(s)
Archivos Latinoamericanos Nutricion
Abstract
The Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a Peruvian hypocotyl that grows exclusively between the 3700 and 4500 masl at the Peruvian Andes. Traditionally it is attributed nutritional, energizing, fertilizing properties among others. With the purpose of evaluate scientifically the nutritional property of Maca, we carried out a controlled study in two generations of albino Swiss mice (parents and breeding). The parents were aleatorily assigned to one of three nutritional schedules. The food of each group was prepared based on powder from a commercial balanced food (CBF) of which 30 % was replaced by raw or cooked Maca according to the corresponding group or pure CBF in the control group. The groups were this way: 1) Raw Maca Group; 2) Cooked Maca Group; and, 3) Control Group. The results showed that the curves of growth were similar and adequate for the three groups. However, the cooked Maca group showed the best curve. These data were better observable in the second generation of animals, with significant statistical difference (p<0,05). The CBF group had a better growth than raw Maca group. No signs of malnutrition nor overweight were observed in none of the groups. The serum values of total proteins and albumin were statistically superior for the mice group eating cooked Maca than that of the raw Maca and CBF groups. This study demonstrates, in a scientifical evaluation, one of the traditionally attributed properties of Maca, the nutritional capability.
Start page
126
End page
133
Volume
50
Issue
2
Language
Spanish
OCDE Knowledge area
Crías y mascotas
Nutrición, Dietética
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-0034198273
PubMed ID
Source
Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutricion
ISSN of the container
00040622
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus