The Effect of a Proprietary Maca Blend on Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Muscle
Authors: Sahin Kazim , Ojalvo Sara Perez , Sylla Sarah , Komorowski James , Orhan Cemal , Tuzcu Mehmet , Sahin Nurhan 
Published: June 2021

Lepidium meyenii, commonly known as maca, is a nutritionally dense Peruvian plant that has been traditionally used as both a food source and therapeutic agent. Maca has been shown to act as an energizer, antioxidant, antidepressant, and physical and sexual performance enhancer1. We have recently shown that Maca‐N21 (Nutrition 21 LLC's Proprietary Blend) also has anti‐fatigue and endurance enhancing effects, although the mechanism is not known2. Potential mechanisms of action are: 1) decreased exercise induced production and accumulation of oxidative species, and 2) via enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis through increased activity of signaling factors that regulate mitochondrial growth, skeletal muscle oxidative capacity, and energy metabolism. To evaluate the mechanism of action behind Maca‐N21's ability to enhance physical endurance, the following pre‐clinical study was conducted.

Sprague‐Dawley rats (n=7 per group; age: 8 weeks, weight: 180 ± 20 g) were randomly divided into four groups with similar body weights as follows: 1) Control (vehicle), 2) Maca‐N21 powder (40 mg/kg body weight), 3) Exercise, 4) Exercise + Maca‐N21 powder (40 mg/kg body weight). Maca groups received the Maca‐N21 powder via gastric gavage once per day for 21 consecutive days. The Control group received a similar volume of vehicle solution. To acclimate rats to endurance swimming, rats were made to swim for 10 minutes, twice a week. On the 14th day of the experiment, 30 minutes after oral administration of test product, a weight‐loaded swimming test (5% body weight) was employed. The rats were then orally administered study product for 7 more days. On the 21st day, after oral administration of study product and a non‐loaded swim test, all rats were sacrificed. Left gastrocnemius muscle samples were collected and tested for selected markers of mitochondrial biogenesis, including the phosphorylation of PGC‐1, SIRT‐1, TFAM, NF‐kB, Nrf‐1, and Nrf‐2, via Western blot methods.

Results showed that the activity of PGC‐1, SIRT‐1, TFAM, Nrf‐1, and Nrf‐2 increased in the Maca‐N21 powder group compared to the Control group (p<0.05). Moreover, the activity of those markers increased even more greatly in the Exercise + Maca‐N21 powder group compared to the Exercise group (p<0.05). The activity of NF‐kB, which is expected to decrease due to its relation to muscle atrophy, decreased non‐significantly in the Maca‐N21 group compared to the Control group and decreased further in the Exercise + Maca‐N21 powder group compared to the Exercise group (p<0.05) (Table 1). It is important to note that both with and without exercise, Maca‐N21 positively regulated the activity of various factors involved in the signaling cascade that promotes mitochondrial biogenesis.

In conclusion, these data support the beneficial effects of supplementation with Maca‐N21 powder on enhancing the activity of factors involved in skeletal muscle energy metabolism. These results provide evidence of a novel mechanism by which Maca‐N21 exerts its beneficial effects on physical endurance.

Support or Funding Information

This study was funded by Nutrition 21, LLC.

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.