Research progress on macamides / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) has been used as both food and traditional medicine for centuries for its high nutritional value and multi-medicinal properties. Macamides, the marker compounds of maca, are a series of nonpolar, long chain fatty acid N-benzylamides. Most of them have neuroprotective and neuroregulation effects. In this paper, we reviewed the structures of macamides, methods of chemical synthesis, and quantitative determination, and their bioactivities to provide a reference for further research and development.