Rubio Julio, Caldas Maria, Dávila Sonia, Gasco Manuel, Gonzales Gustavo F
Department of Biological and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy and Instituto de Investigaciones de la Altura, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2006 Jun 23;6:23. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-6-23.
Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Brassicaceae), known as Maca, is a Peruvian hypocotyl growing exclusively between 4000 and 4500 m altitude in the central Peruvian Andes, particularly in Junin plateau and is used traditionally to enhance fertility. Maca is a cultivated plant and different cultivars are described according to the color of the hypocotyls.
The study aimed to elucidate the effect of Yellow, Red and Black Maca on cognitive function and depression in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. In all experiments OVX mice were treated during 21 days and divided in four groups: control group, Yellow Maca, Red Maca and Black Maca. Latent learning was assessed using the water finding task and the antidepressant activity of the three varieties of Maca was evaluated using the forced swimming test. Animals were sacrificed at the end of each treatment and the uterus were excised and weighed.
Black Maca was the variety that showed the best response in the water finding task, particularly in the trained mice. The three varieties were effective to reduce finding latency in non trained and trained mice (P < 0.05). In the force swimming test, all varieties assessed reduced the time of immobility and increased uterine weight in OVX mice.
Black Maca appeared to have more beneficial effects on latent learning in OVX mice; meanwhile, all varieties of Maca showed antidepressant activity.
玛咖（Lepidium meyenii Walp.，十字花科）是一种秘鲁下胚轴植物，仅生长于秘鲁安第斯山脉中部海拔4000至4500米之间，特别是在胡宁高原，传统上用于提高生育能力。玛咖是一种栽培植物，根据下胚轴颜色可分为不同品种。
本研究旨在阐明黄、红、黑三种玛咖对去卵巢（OVX）小鼠认知功能和抑郁的影响。在所有实验中，OVX小鼠接受为期21天的治疗，并分为四组：对照组、黄玛咖组、红玛咖组和黑玛咖组。使用水迷宫任务评估潜在学习能力，并使用强迫游泳试验评估三种玛咖的抗抑郁活性。在每次治疗结束时处死动物，切除子宫并称重。
黑玛咖在水迷宫任务中表现出最佳反应，尤其是在经过训练的小鼠中。这三个品种均能有效缩短未训练和训练小鼠的寻水潜伏期（P < 0.05）。在强迫游泳试验中，所有评估的品种均能减少OVX小鼠的不动时间并增加子宫重量。
黑玛咖似乎对OVX小鼠的潜在学习有更有益的影响；同时，所有品种的玛咖均显示出抗抑郁活性。
