FROM THE ANCIENT TIMES, NATIVE PERUVIANS USED MACA ROOT FOR A FOOD AND A TONIC. THEY BELIEVED MACA INCREASED ENERGY AND STAMINA. 'WILD PERU MACA' BRAND PRODUCTS ARE SPECIALIZED WITH MACA PRODUCT WHICH FOCUSED ON THE UNIQUE COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES WITH THE PLANT. MACA, ALSO KNOWN AS PERUVIAN GINSENG, GROWS IN THE HIGHEST ALTITUDE (7,000-11,000 FEET) IN THE MOUNTAINS OF PERU. HAS BEEN USED BY NATIVE INDIANS IN PERU AS A VITAL INGREDIENT FOR HEALTH FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. RECORDS INDICATE THAT INKAN WARRIORS ALWAYS CONSUMED MACA BEFORE GOING INTO A BATTLE. IN 1549 A.D., SPANISH EXPLORERS RECEIVED MACA FROM THE INDIANS AS A GIFT IN RETURN FOR HELP IN IMPROVING METHODS OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY. CURRENTLY, MACA IS RECOMMENDED FOR FOLLOWING BENEFITS: PROVIDES ANTIOXIDANT, HELPS TO SUPPORT HEALTHY MOOD BALANCE DURING MENOPAUSE, HELPS TO SUPPORT EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF SEXUAL HEALTH. ANTIOXIDANTS ARE INVOLVED IN THE PREVENTION OF CELL DAMAGE OR DEATH BY FREE RADICALS, WHICH IS A COMMON PATHWAY TO MANY DISEASES OR UNDESIRABLE CONDITIONS. BROOKS NA, WILCOX G, WALKER KZ, ASHTON JF, COX MB, STOJANOVSKA L. BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF LEPIDIUM MEYENII (MACA) ON PHYSIOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS AND MEASURES OF SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN ARE NOT RELATED TO ESTROGEN OR ANDROGEN CONTENT. MENOPAUSE 2008;15(6):1157-1162. BROTTO LA. THE DSM DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR HYPOACTIVE SEXUAL DESIRE DISORDER IN WOMEN. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2010;39(2):221-239. DORDING CM, FSHER L, PAPAKOSTAS G, FARABAUGH A, SONAWALLA S, FAVA M, MISCHOULON D. A DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED, PILOT DOSE-FINDING STUDY OF MACA ROOT (L. MEYENII) FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SSRI-INDUCED SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION. CNS NEUROSCIENCE THERAPY AND THERAPEUTICS 2008;14(3):182-191. GONZALES GF, CORDOVA A, VEGA K, CHUNG A, VILLENA A, GONEZ C, COSTILLO S. EFFECT OF LEPIDIUM MEYENII (MACA) ON SEXUAL DESIRE AND ITS ABSENT RELATIONSHIP WITH SERUM TESTOSTERONE LEVELS IN ADULT HEALTHY MEN. ANDROLOGIA 2002;34(6):367-372. GONZALES GF, GONZALES-CASTANEDA GC. THE METHYLTETRAHYDRO-{BETA}-CARBOLINES IN MACA (LEPIDIUM MEYENII). EVIDENCE BASED COMPLEMENTARY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2009;6(3):315-316. MCGUFFIN M, KARTESZ JT, LEUNG AY, TUCKER AO, EDITORS. HERBS OF COMMERCE. 2ND EDITION. SILVER SPRING (MD): AMERICAN HERBAL PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION; 2000. MEISSNER, KAPCZYNSKI, MSCISZ, LUTOMSKI. USE OF GELATINIZED MACA (LEPIDIUM PERUVIANUM) IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN - A PILOT STUDY. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 2005;1(1):33-45. MEISSNER, REICH-BILINSKA, KEDZIA. THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF PRE-GELATINIZED MACA (LEPIDIUM PERUVIANUM CHACON) USED AS A NON-HORMONAL ALTERNATIVE TO HRT IN PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN - CLINICAL PILOT STUDY. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 2006;2(2):143-159. NS 2012. NATURAL STANDARD. MACA (LEPIDIUM MEYENII) COPYRIGHT 2012 [INTERNET].. AVAILABLE FROM: HTTP://WWW.NATURALSTANDARD.COM. SHIN BC, LEE MS, YANG EJ, LIM H-S, ERNST E. MACA (L. MEYENII) FOR IMPROVING SEXUAL FUNCTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BMC COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2010;10(44):1-6. This page is not intended to be a comprehensive review of the medicinal ingredient.