Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 17;7:44660. doi: 10.1038/srep44660.
Lepidium meyenii (Maca), originated from Peru, has been cultivated widely in China as a popular health care food. However, the chemical and effective studies of Maca were less in-depth, which restricted its application seriously. To ensure the quality of Maca, a feasible and accurate strategy was established. One hundred and sixty compounds including 30 reference standards were identified in 6 fractions of methanol extract of Maca by UHPLC-ESI-Orbitrap MS. Among them, 15 representative active compounds were simultaneously determined in 17 samples by UHPLC-ESI-QqQ MS. The results suggested that Maca from Yunnan province was the potential substitute for the one from Peru. Meanwhile, the neuroprotective effects of Maca were investigated. Three fractions and two pure compounds showed strong activities in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced zebrafish model. Among them, 80% methanol elution fraction (Fr) showed significant neuroprotective activity, followed by 100% part (Fr). The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was a possible mechanism of its neuroprotective effect.
玛咖（Lepidium meyenii）原产于秘鲁，现已在中国广泛种植，成为一种颇受欢迎的保健品。然而，玛咖的化学和药效研究不够深入，严重限制了其应用。为确保玛咖的质量，建立了一种可行且准确的策略。通过 UHPLC-ESI-Orbitrap MS 在玛咖甲醇提取物的 6 个馏分中鉴定出包括 30 个对照品在内的 160 种化合物。其中，通过 UHPLC-ESI-QqQ MS 同时测定了 17 个样品中的 15 种代表性活性化合物。结果表明，云南产的玛咖可能替代秘鲁产的玛咖。同时，研究了玛咖的神经保护作用。三种馏分和两种纯化合物在 1-甲基-4-苯基-1,2,3,6-四氢吡啶（MPTP）诱导的斑马鱼模型中表现出很强的活性。其中，80%甲醇洗脱馏分（Fr）表现出显著的神经保护活性，其次是 100%部分（Fr）。抑制乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）和丁酰胆碱酯酶（BuChE）可能是其神经保护作用的机制之一。
