Chemical Analysis of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) and Its Effects on Redox Status and on Reproductive Biology in Stallions

The present study was conducted to assess the chemical composition of Yellow Maca(Lepidium meyenii) and its biological activity on stallions following oral administration of hypocotylpowder. Maca was subjected to methanolic extraction and the chemical analysis was carried out byLC-MS-QTOF (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry). Our results showed that Maca containssome effective antioxidants, a high percentage of glucosinolates, and other important componentswith a high antioxidant capacity. To evaluate the plant biological activity in stallions fed with Macapowder for 60 days, the redox status and some reproductive parameters were investigated. Blood andsemen samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, and 90 days from the beginning of this study. Blood samplesshowed a decrease of the reactive oxygen metabolites, evaluated by d-ROMs test, and an increaseof the antioxidant barrier in terms of biological antioxidant potential (BAP test), powerful oxidantcapacity (OXY-Adsorbent test), and thiols evaluation (-SHp test). Furthermore, semen samplesshowed a positive trend during Maca administration in the following parameters: ejaculate volumesand sperm concentrations, total and progressive motility, and acrosome integrity.