Product: MACA

Company: Quest

Size: 60 Capsules

Ingredients: Maca root ( Lepedium Meyenii ) 500mg.

Dosage: Take three capsules daily or as directed by a health professional.

Contains no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives or wheat, dairy, yeast, sugar or starch.

Description: Maca ( Lepidium meyenii ) is an annual plant that produces a radish-like tuber. Little is known about the origins of maca, but the plant is believed to have been cultivated in the Junin plateau of Peru's central highlands as far back as 2,000 years ago. During the Incan empire, maca was so highly revered for its purported energy- and libido-enhancing properties, it was used as currency. Legend has it that Incan warriors would consume maca before entering into battle. Today, maca is an Andean crop grown exclusively in Peru's Junin Plateau at elevations between 10,000 and 15,000 feet.

According to medical doctors in Lima, maca is becoming increasingly popular in Peru among native and non-native people, and market demand for maca is on the rise in Japan, Europe and the United States. Peruvian maca cultivation is on the increase, spurred on by government experts and agencies that are actively promoting maca agriculture and development. In the markets of Peru, maca is sold for its strengthening and stamina-promoting effects, to improve sexual function and as a fertility enhancer.

The plant sterols may be responsible, as may be isothiocyanates discovered in the root. Maca contains benzyl thiocyanate and p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate. Though these compounds occur in small amounts, they may enhance fertility. But two recently discovered groups of compounds, the macamides and the macaenes-- discovered by Qun Yi Zheng, Ph.D., at PureWorld Botanicals - appear to be the likely agents responsible for maca's enhancement of libido and sexual function.

In toxicity studies conducted in at Product Safety Labs of East Brunswick, N.J., maca showed absolutely no toxicity, and no adverse pharmacological effects.