Isolation and Identification of Macamides from the Lipidic Extract of Maca (Lepidium meyenii) using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) has been used as a food and medicine in Peru for thousands of years. More recently a wide array of commercial maca products have gained popularity as dietary supplements with claims of anabolic and aphrodisiac effects. Even though the biologically active principles of maca are not fully known, the lipidic extract of maca tubers containing macamides showed promising physiological activities. In this study, the lipidic extract were collected from maca tubers by using supercritical carbon dioxide (). Substance estimated as macamide in the extract was isolated and purified by preparative HPLC with recycling system. Two of the purified substance was identified as N-benzyl-5-oxo-6E,8E-octadecadienamide and N-benzylhexadecan amide by LC/MS, -NMR and -NMR analyses.