Botanical Adulterants Prevention Bulletin on Maca Published by BAPP

The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program released the 16th in the series of Botanical Adulterants Prevention Bulletins (BAPB) on maca adulteration.¹ Maca (Lepidium meyenii, syn. L. peruvianum, Brassicaceae) hypocotyls have been cultivated in the Peruvian Andes for thousands of years as a nutritious food, and have a history of use as medicine to enhance fertility, to provide more energy, and for its effect on mood and well-being.

The recent success of maca in the global market has led to adulterated maca-based ingredients finding their way into the market. Reports suggest that adulterants include flour from corn, wheat, or yam. There is also evidence of the illegal sale of conventional male sexual enhancement drugs (e.g., sildenafil) masquerading as maca dietary supplements marketed for erectile dysfunction.

The maca bulletin, written by Jeremy Stewart, PhD, vice-president of scientific affairs, and Bill Chioffi, former vice-president of global sourcing and sustainability, at herbal products manufacturer Gaia Herbs (Brevard, NC), summarizes the published data on maca adulteration, details the supply chain issues and their consequences for the maca market, and provides information on the market importance and a short section on analytical methods to detect adulteration. Manufacturers of maca dietary supplement and food products may use the bulletin as a source of information on quality issues with the ingredient and as a basis to implement appropriate guards against purchasing adulterated material.

Reference

1. Stewart J, Chioffi B. Adulteration of maca (Lepidium meyenii). Botanical Adulterants Prevention Bulletin. Austin, TX: ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program. 2018;1-7.