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New alkamides from maca (Lepidium meyenii)
Jianping Zhao1, Ilias Muhammad, D Chuck Dunbar
1Department of Pharmacognosy and National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|February 3, 2005
Summary
Researchers identified five new alkamides in Maca (Lepidium meyenii), a popular dietary supplement. These compounds could serve as key markers for authenticating and standardizing Maca products.
Area of Science:
- Phytochemistry
- Natural Product Chemistry
Background:
- Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a traditional Peruvian food with growing popularity as a dietary supplement.
- Commercial maca products are marketed for purported anabolic and aphrodisiac effects, but active compounds remain largely unidentified.
Purpose of the Study:
- To further investigate the chemical constituents of Lepidium meyenii.
- To isolate and characterize novel compounds from Maca.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
- Structure elucidation employing high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS), and various nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments, including 2D NMR (HMBC).
- Confirmation of one compound's structure via chemical synthesis.
Main Results:
- Five new alkamides, designated 1-5, were isolated and structurally characterized: N-benzyl-9-oxo-12Z-octadecenamide (1), N-benzyl-9-oxo-12Z,15Z-octadecadienamide (2), N-benzyl-13-oxo-9E,11E-octadecadienamide (3), N-benzyl-15Z-tetracosenamide (4), and N-(m-methoxybenzyl)hexadecanamide (5).
- The structure of N-benzyl-15Z-tetracosenamide (4) was confirmed through synthesis.
- These specific alkamides have been exclusively identified in Lepidium meyenii.
Conclusions:
- The newly identified alkamides are unique to Lepidium meyenii.
- These compounds show potential as chemical markers for the authentication and standardization of Maca supplements.