玛咖研究及应用进展

Research and application progress of Lepidium meyenii(maca)

玛咖Lepidium meyenii(maca)为十字花科独行菜属草本植物,原产于南美安第斯山脉地区,当地人民种植食用玛咖历史悠久,其独特的化学成分和生理功能受到世界各国的广泛关注。2002年引种至我国,已在云南、西藏、四川、吉林等地引种成功,具有一定的种植规模。玛咖含有丰富的蛋白质、维生素、矿质元素等营养物质,和玛咖生物碱、芥子油苷、挥发油类、甾醇类及多酚类、玛咖烯类等次生代谢产物。大量研究表明,玛咖具有抗氧化、抗疲劳、增强生育能力、调节内分泌、增强免疫力、抗肿瘤、抗骨质疏松、调节血糖、保护神经系统等功效。2011年我国卫生部批准玛咖为新资源食品,相关的产品开发涉及食品、保健食品、化妆品等多方面。为更好地利用其药用价值,近年来开展了对玛咖中药属性的探索性研究。该文从植物学、化学成分、功效、资源概况、相关产品开发等方面综述了近年来玛咖的研究及应用进展,旨在为玛咖的科学研究与利用提供参考。

Lepidium meyenii(maca)was a herbaceous plant of the family Cruciferae. It is native to the andes region of South America where the local people had been growing and consuming maca for centuries. The unique chemical composition and physiological function of maca were widely concerned worldwide. It was introduced to China in 2002, and were cultivated successfully in Yunnan, Tibet, Sichuan, Jilin and other places with a certain size. Maca contained not only rich nutrition such as protein, vitamin and mineral matter, but also lots of secondary metabolites as maca alkaloids, glucosinolates, volatile oils, sterols polyphenols and macaenes. Numerous studies suggested that maca may serve effects in resisting oxidation, fatigue resistance, raising fertility, regulating endocrine, enhancing immunity, tumour suppression, treating osteoporosis, regulate blood sugar and protection of nervous system. Maca was approved by the Ministry of Health as a new resource food in 2011, and its related products include food, health foods, cosmetics, etc. Certain exploratory researches were carried to take better advantage of maca′s medicinal value. This paper briefly reviewed the research and application progress of maca in recent years from the aspects of botany, chemical composition, function, resources situation and related products development, which was supposed to provide reference for scientific research and utilization of maca.