Medical Journal Report of
Innovative Biologics
by Morton Walker, DPM
Copyright 1998 by Dr. Morton Walker Freelance
Communications 484 High Ridge Road, Stamford, Connecticut
06905 USA Phone 203-322-1551, Fax 203-322-4656
Effects of Peruvian Maca on
Hormonal Functions
Whether discussions today are about estrogen replacement, the
solutions mentioned are generally drugs currently on the market.
Lately, however, we've been hearing marvellous reports about a
hearty plant root cultivated high in the andes of Peru. Known as
'maca,' this ancient nutritional source and efficacious endocrine
system remedy is being dispensed by health professionals as a safe
and natural substitute for drugs.
Maca, in fact, has been used by Peruvian consumers for many
centuries, from before the time of the Incas. The Incas found maca
so potent that they restricted its use to their Royalty's court.
Upon overrunning the Inca people, conquering Spaniards became aware
of this plant's value and collected tribute in maca roots for export
to Spain. Maca was used as an energy enhancer and for therapy,
increasing male potency, or improving other hormonal function.
Promoting the introduction of maca into the United States market,
Viana Muller, PhD, is cofounder and President of Whole World
Botanicals™, a New York City-based company which manufactures and
imports the product, Royal Maca™ 'Once in a decade an herb used by
native peoples for thousands of years comes to our attention and it
seems so important to health that we wonder how we ever got along
without it before," says Dr. Muller. "Maca is that kind of herb.
'Now women have an alternative to hormone replacement therapy
[HRT],' Dr. Muller continued. 'Maca works in an entirely different
and more satisfactory way for most women than the phytogenic herbs
like black cohosh and licorice root. These herbs have become popular
with menopausal women who refuse to take the drugs of HRT.
'And men, too, find in maca an herb that will counteract the
difficulties they may experience in maintaining good sexual
relationships as they age, due to a general slowing down in the
output of the endocrine glands,' said Dr. Muller.
The Importance of Maca in the
History of Peru
Maca's cultivation goes back perhaps five millennia. It was an
integral part of the diet and commerce of the high Andes region.
When they controlled that certain South American region, it was used
for nutrition by the Spanish Royalty as well. But eventually
knowledge of maca's special qualities died out, being preserved only
in a few remote Peruvian communities.
In the 1960s and later in the 1980s, German and North American
scientists researching botanicals in Peru, rekindled interest in
maca through nutritional analyses of what was designated as 'the
lost crops of the Andes.' The publication of a book by that name
introduced maca to the world.
At an international conference in 1991, the Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations recommended that Peruvians
should return to eating traditional, native Andean foods. Maca was
mentioned in the FAO list as a means of combating nutritional
problems being caused by people switching to processed foods and
high-sugar drinks. The reintroduction of maca has established
healthy eating once again in the Peruvian diet.
The New Maca Species, Lepidium
peruvianum Chacon
The scientist responsible for most of the current knowledge of
the maca plant is Gloria Chacon de Popivici, PhD, a Peruvian
biologist trained at the University of San Marcos, in Lima, Peru.
Dr. Chacon wrote her dissertation in the early l960's on the maca
root, and did groundbreaking work on the plant by discovering a new
species. By analyzing its chemical actives, she pinpointed their
hormonal effects, Dr. Chacon also authored a book describing the
root's nourishing micronutrients: La importancia de Lepidium
peruvianum Chacon (Maca) en la Alimentacion y Salud del ser Humano y
Animal 2,000 Ados Antes y Despues de Cristo y en el Siglo.
Published in Lima, in 1997, the book is a definitive study on maca
and discusses its use from 8000 BC to the present and into the 21st
century.
Having become interested in the almost extinct maca back in 1960
as an undergraduate biology student at the University of Lima, Dr
Chacon went on to do extensive research. During a botanical field
trip to the Central Highlands of her native Peru, she encountered an
amazing and little-known plant whose root, she learned from the
local population, had powerful energizing and fertility effects.
A search of botanical literature revealed that a plant closely
resembling maca had been identified in 1843 by the German botanist,
Walpers. He called it Lepidium meyenii Walpers, but the plant he
described was a perennial without the same medicinal effects as
Peruvian maca. It grows in parts of Bolivia and Chile. The young
student was excited to realize that she had located and identified a
new species, which she called Lepidium peruvianum Chacon. It is a
classification accepted by major herbariums in the United States and
Europe as a true new species. Curiously, in Peru it is still called
by the erroneous name, Lepidium meynii Walper.
Effects of Maca on the
Endocrine Glands
This biologist/author has done the most important scientific work
to date on the maca plant. In particular, Dr. Chacon isolated four
alkaloids from the maca root and carried out animal studies with
male and female rats given either powdered maca root or alkaloids
isolated from the roots. In comparison with the animal control
groups, those receiving either root powder or alkaloids showed
multiple egg follicle maturation in females and, in males,
significantly higher sperm production and motility rates than
control groups.
Dr. Chacon established that it was the alkaloids in the maca
root, not its plant hormones, that produced fertility effects on the
ovaries and testes of the rats. These effects are measurable within
72 hours of dosing the animals,' she offered in a recent telephone
interview from Lima, Peru. Through the experiments, she deduced that
the alkaloids were acting on the hypothalamus-pituitary gland, which
explains why both male and female rats were afflicted in a
gender-appropriate manner. This also explains why the effects in
humans are not limited to ovaries and testes, but also act on the
adrenals, giving a feeling of greater energy and vitality, and on
the pancreas and thyroid as well.
'Implications of Dr. Chacon's discovery of the pituitary
stimulating effects of maca are enormous,' Dr. Muller said when I
spoke to her recently. 'What it appears to mean is that hormone
replacement therapy, even the natural varieties, will no longer be
the gold standard for optimising a holistic point of view.'
Hugo Malaspina, MD, Works with
Maca
Now practicing complementary medicine with an emphasis on the use
of medicinal herbs, one of the earliest modern pioneers in the
therapeutic use of this ancient herb for an urban population is Hugo
Malaspina, MD, a respected cardiologist in Lima. Dr. Malaspina has
been using the maca root in his practice for a decade and makes the
following observations. 'There are different medicinal plants that
work on the ovaries by stimulating them. With maca, though, we
should say that it 'regulates' the ovarian function.' Dr. Malaspina,
who uses maca therapy for both his male and female patients, recalls
that he first heard about this extraordinary herb through a group of
elderly gentlemen who, while well along in years were still lively
and interested in enjoying sexual activities. 'One of this group
(they were all over 70) started taking main and found he was able to
perform satisfactorily in a sexual relationship with a lady friend.
Soon everyone in the group began drinking the powered maca as a
beverage and enjoying the boost that the root was giving their
hormonal functions. I have several of these men as patients, and
their improvement prompted me to find out more about maca and begin
recommending it to my other patients,' Dr. Malaspina stated.
What makes maca so effective, according to Dr. Malaspina, is that
rather than introducing hormones from outside the body, maca
encourages the ovaries and other glands to produce the needed
hormones. The cardiologist-turned-wholistic physician said, 'Maca
regulates the organs of internal secretion, such as the pituitary,
the adrenal glands, the pancreas, etc. I have had perhaps 200 female
patients whose perimenopausal and postmenopausal symptoms are
alleviated by taking maca."
Maca Provides Benefit
Following Hysterectomy
Dr. Malaspina has even found maca to be effective for women with
hysterectomies. He discussed a 49-year old woman who had a
hysterectomy eight years ago, although she still retained her
ovaries. 'The woman was beginning to get menopausal symptoms - hot
flashes, cold feet, depression, tachycardia, some constipation and
some bone loss. Because she had breast implants, usual hormone
replacement therapy was not an option for her,' explained Dr.
Malaspina. 'I started her on maca and within three months the
depression, constipation, and hot flashes cleared up. Based on my
experience with some other patients, I expect that her bone density
will improve as will, but that will take longer.'
He has also dispensed maca to women who have undergone complete
hysterectomies. One patient who had her ovaries removed was on HRT.
'But she didn't feel well taking the HRT so she stopped.
When I examined her the blood serum estradiol level was 15 which
is very low and she was experiencing hot flashes. Two months after
she began taking maca I retested her and the woman had a level of
75. Anything above 60 is probably an adequate postmenopausal level.
Maca enabled the adrenals to make sufficient hormones to avoid
symptoms,' he said.
Dr. Malaspina adamantly prefers maca therapy to HRT. 'Me presence
of the outside hormone circulating in the system sends a message to
the pituitary and the hypothalmus that there is a sufficient
quantity of hormones in the body, and so they stop producing them.
When menopause arrives, then, the ovaries are atrophied and do not
produce the estrogen and progesterone which the body requires
minimally to function. For this reason, I encourage women to start
with maca before menopause. It seems to help the endocrine system to
stay in balance.'
Jorge A Calderon, MD,
Prescribes Maca
Another Peruvian pioneer in the therapeutic application of maca
integrated into a modem medical practice is Jorge Aguila Calderon,
MD. An intemist, Dr. Aguila Calderon is former Chief of the
Department of Biological Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Human
Medicine at the National University of Federico Villarreal in Lima.
Like Dr. Malaspina, he prescribes maca for a wide variety of
conditions, including osteoporosis and the healing of bone fractures
in the very elderly. 'Maca has a lot of easily absorbable calcium in
it, plus magnesium, and a fair amount of allies which we are finding
very useful in treating the decalcification of bones in children and
adults.'
Along with prescribing an excellent diet and certain lifestyle
changes, Dr. Aguila Calderon has helped patients with male
impotence, male sterility, and female sterility by employing maca
therapy. Additional problems he treats with maca are rickets,
various forms of anemia, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and
night sweats, climacteric and erectile difficulties in men,
premature aging, and general states of weakness such as chronic
fatigue.
American Physician Gabriel
Cousens, MD, Uses Maca
Physicians in the United States believe this herb has the
potential of a balanced answer to the effects of aging on the
endocrine system. Many who have tried phytoestrogens and/or
precursor hormones such as DHEA or pregnenolone, or even natural
hormone replacement therapy and have been dissatisfied, are getting
excellent results from their use of maca root.
Gabriel Cousens, MD, practicing internal medicine in Patagonia,
Arizona, says, Whenever possible, I prefer to use maca therapy
rather than hormone replacement therapy because HRT actually ages
the body diminishing the hormone producing capability of the glands.
Maca has proven to be very effective with menopausal patients in
eliminating hot flashes and depression and in increasing energy
levels. They find the right dosage level, sometimes I have started
the patient on maca treatment with a half a teaspoon of powder or
three capsules a day. In some cases I have raised the dosage to a
teaspoon or six capsules a day for full effectiveness.' |
|
Henry Campanile, M.D., Offers
Adrenal Balancing
Maca root, in keeping with its mode of acting through the
hypothalamus and pituitary, has a balancing Bud nourishing effect on
the adrenal glands. Henry Campanile, MD, a 50-year old specialist in
internal and family/complementary medicine practicing in St.
Petersburg, Florida, relates: 'I happen to have been born with one
adrenal gland just like my father. I started taking cortisone in my
late twenties to relieve the fatigue which I was already feeling.
Knowing the dangers of long term cortisone use, I looked around for
an alternative, and this circumstance is what got me interested in
complementary medicine. I started using pregnenelone about 10 years
ago and it has been fairly satisfactory. But one of my patients told
me about Royal Maca, and I started taking it about a month ago. It
is phenomenal! I haven't felt this good since I was 20 years old. I
have so much energy and look so well, my patients have remarked on
it and told me how rested I seem. I've got so much energy now have
started an exercise program.'
After trying it out on himself, Dr. Campanile began using maca
with his patients. 'My first patient to take the maca capsules was
experiencing hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. She started
feeling much better after using this herb for only four days. I'm
also employing it with patients who have low adrenal function.'
Harold Clark, MD., Makes Maca
a Key Remedy
Another American doctor who has recently began to use maca
therapeutically for some patients is of New Rochelle, New York. Dr.
Clark, who utilizes chelation therapy and ozone therapy in addition
to herbs, vitamins and minerals in his practice stated, 'I'm amazed
at how fast maca worked on two patients that I have been concerned
about for some time.' He described one patient as 55 year-old Mary
T, a postmenopausal, woman. Mary T was possessed of numerous health
problems, including somewhat elevated blood sugar, hypertension,
atrial fibrillation, and hypomagnesemia. She had been acutely ill
for two months with osteomyelitis and generalized sepsis. Unable to
work, she was suffering from great fatigue and depression and
feeling 'worse and worse' over the last five years.
'Within just four days of taking the maca capsules, Mary T went
through an enormous turnaround,' said Dr. Clark. 'She has gone out
to shop in the stores; she's cleaning her house; she feels strong
and vigorous; and her depression is gone.'
Early Menopause and Vaginal
Dryness Avoided
One young West Coast woman, Susan F, has an interesting
experience to tell. After giving birth to two children, the 31-year
old mother decided to use contraceptive pills for the first time.
Since a possible side effect of the method she chose was not having
a period, Susan F didn't think anything of its non-occurrence until
six months later when she also began experiencing mood swings, hot
flashes, and dry skin.
Her visit to an endocrinologist revealed that the woman's
hormones were at 'menopause' levels. Then Susan's mother told her
that early menopause runs in the family. Her grandmother, her
mother, and her older sister all had early menopause. It had been a
year since her last period, and by chance her husband brought home
some Royal Maca™ for himself. He told his wife to try it, too, which
she did.
Last June Susan F experienced resumption of menstruation once
again. Her periods have been regular ever since taking the maca.
Susan F also comments that her skin is now soft and moist, the way
it used to be.
Diane S, a 52-year-old librarian from Rye, New York, would never
consider taking estrogen because of the health risks she feared.
Instead she opted for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) as an anti-aging
hormone. This very physically active woman noticed an upsurge in her
energy from ingesting DHFA but intercourse was still painful for her
due to the drying of her vagina. The gynecologist she consulted
about the problem told her it was a 'natural part of aging that
could only get worse with time.' He told Diane S that the only thing
able to help would be taking estrogen.
But after three weeks of taking Royal Maca ™ Diane reported that
her vaginal lubrication was good, and vaginal dryness was no longer
troublesome.
Results for a
Nurse-Practitioner and Her Patients
From her White Plains, New York, clinic, nurse-practitioner
Stephanie Sulger-Smith, RN, MS, says that she read an article about
postmenopausal health which discussed Royal Maca™. At her clinic she
offers nutritional counselling for a variety of conditions.
'I had been prescribing black cohosh, dong quai, oil of evening
primrose, vitamin E and other natural remedies to women with
perimenopausal symptoms. But when I began using these remedies to
help with my own hot flashes and other symptoms of approaching
menopause, I didn't get the relief I needed. So I acquired a supply
of maca powder and took it as advised.
Almost immediately, my hot flashes disappeared and my energy
level went up. My response to maca was surprising to my
gynecologist, who insisted that I undergo a series of laboratory
studies, including estrogen levels, uterine monograms and others.
They all turned out normal," says nurse Sulger-Smith. 'I haven't had
a hot flash since the beginning of November 1997, and I feel
fabulous. 'When I told my patients about Royal Maca™, they tried it
and found freedom from their perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.
One patient who has been taking maca for over a year had a series of
bone density studies done that showed increased density in the
spine," says Nurse Sulger-Smith. 'Other case histories exhibit
similar positive results from taking maca. In fact, most of the
women taking the root powder report that they feel less fatigue,
greater energy, are less susceptible to stress, and do not
experience hot flashes or night sweats.
Not Every Menopausal Woman
Responds to the Root
Dr. Muller advises that although the great majority of menopausal
and postmenopausal women could benefit from maca therapy, it is not
necessarily the answer for every woman. 'First of all,' she says,
'you have those women whose bodies are so well balanced through a
combination of good nutrition, fitness, good genes and lifestyle
that they are doing just great without adding any Royal Maca™. Our
company does not want to treat menopause as an illness and tell all
women that they need maca therapy. Each woman is a different
biochemical entity and will react in a different way to this natural
life event.
'Then there is a whole group of women who have been on hormone
replacement therapy for five, ten or 20 years. To a greater or
lesser extent their ovaries have atrophied from receiving estrogen
and other hormones supplied to them from outside for a long period
of time. One physician I spoke to treated a patient who was taking
HRT for eight years,' Dr. Muller said. 'He had her taper off over a
two-week period while ingesting 2 capsules of Royal Maca™ per day.
She's been completely off HRT for about a month now, while
continuing with the maca, and so far she hasn't experienced any
recurrence of symptoms. But at this point, there is no consensus
about the best approach.
'And of course, there are always a few individuals who will show
an allergic reaction or who fall into a group of women or men for
whom a pituitary stimulator such as maca is contraindicated in the
absence of studies that prove its safety. These groups include men
with a high PSA level or a history of prostate cancer. Men using
maca on a regular basis should undergo periodic PSA tests. Women
with a history of breast cancer or other types of hormone-related
cancer also fall into this group.'
Dr. Viana Muller and Whole
World Botanicals
The history and value of maca agriculture in traditional Peruvian
Society is becoming known through the efforts of both historians and
anthropologists who have studied Peruvian culture. Among the most
knowledgeable of these anthropologists is Viana Muller, PhD,
President of Whole World Botanical™. Dr. Muller provided this
medical journalist with a description of maca's history and its
extraordinary medicinal attributes. In fact, she has translated much
of the documentation derived from articles and text originally in
Spanish relating to the science, history and anthropology of
maca.
Dr. Muller explained that her work with maca and the communities
that produce it enable her to achieve certain goals. She wishes to
provide highly beneficial natural health products to consumers while
helping the producing communities.
'The trail that led me to studying the maca root began in 1989
during an anthropological field research trip to the jungles of
Peru,' the anthropologist explains. 'Then I came across Cat's Claw
which at that time was almost totally unknown in the USA. From there
I became involved in looking for other highly effective Peruvian
medicinal herbs. In 1994, 1 came upon maca and spent the next two
years researching its botany, history of use, and how it's used
today by native peoples and medical doctors practicing in Peru.
'By founding Whole World Botanicals in 1991, I discovered a way
to join forces with native people to provide a market for their
medicinal herbs and to make them partners in our company's venture
by returning to them a percentage of gross sales," states Dr.
Muller. 'The farmers who produce maca are llama and cattle herders
living under very harsh conditions in communities high in the Andes
that have existed for centuries. In order to survive they need to
partially integrate economically and culturally into Peruvian
society, but they still live on communal land that is distributed to
households by the communal council. Decisions about what to grow and
how to use the land are made by the council. In some areas they
still speak Quechua, their ancestral language, and maintain many
traditions such as the worship of Pachamama, Mother Earth." Urban
populations consume maca in novel ways. It is sold by street vendors
as 'maca juice' and even made into marmalade. The return to
consumption of traditional foods is helping to counteract the
overall reduction of good health that occurs when Peruvian farmers
produce and consume less of their ancestral crops.
Maca as an Anti-Aging Herb for
Both Men and Women
Garry P. Gordon, MD, former president of the American College for
Advancement in Medicine, now Founder and President of the
International College of advanced Longevity Medicine, located in
Chicago, Illinois, bases his appreciation of maca on his own
experience with it. Speaking with me from Payson, Arizona, Dr.
Gordon said, 'We all hear rumors about various products like maca.
But using this Peruvian root myself, I personally experienced a
significant improvement in erectile tissue response. I call it
'nature's answer to Viagra™'.
What I see in maca is a means of normalizing our steroid hormones
like testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen. Therefore it has
facility to forestall the hormonal changes of aging,' Dr. Gordon
believes. 'It acts on men to restore them to a healthy functional
status in which they experience a more active libido. Lots of men
and women who previously believed their sexual problems were
psychological are now clearly going to look for something
physiological to improve quality of life in the area of sexuality,'
says Dr. Gordon. 'Of course, as someone interested in longevity, I'm
aware that mortality comes on much sooner for those individuals
whose sexual activity is diminished or nonexistent. In other words,
I believe that people who engage in sex twice a week or more live
longer. I've found sexual activity to be a reliable marker for
overall aging."
Burton Goldberg, President of Alternative Medicine Publishing in
Anburon, California, whose latest book is An Alternative Medicine
Definitive Guide to Cancer is another enthusiast of maca. He
says that when he tried maca he was very pleased with the results
and began taking it regularly. I'm a 72 year old man and this maca
has taken 25 years off my aging sex life,' declares Burton Goldberg.
That's pretty important to me!'
Dr. Garry Gordon is concerned about reproductive problems in
today's world. 'Society faces a huge problem of dropping sperm
counts and sex hormone difficulties. But maca promises a nontoxic
solution with no downside effects. It's a therapy that appears to
offer men and women the chance for hormonal rejuvenation,' concludes
Dr. Gordon. 'We currently live in an era in which almost everyone
will be doing something to deal with the hormonal consequences of
aging. And Royal Maca™ is now readily available."
Resources
For more information on Royal Maca, manufactured and distributed
by Whole World Botanicals™ of New York, New York, please contact the
company's president, Dr. Viana Muller, through her freecall
telephone 888-757-6026 or call 212-7816026; teleFAX 212-781-0440. |