Chemoprevention
The phytochemical compounds (glucosinolates, macamides,
alkaloids, sterols, polyphenols,
and polysaccharides) of maca contribute to many biological
activities including (1,2):
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Anti-cancer
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Anti-fatigue
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Anti-inflammation
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Anti-osteoporosis
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Antioxidation
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Immunoregulation
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Hepatoprotection
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Neuroprotection
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Reproductive health improvements
Glucosinolates and their enzymolysis products, specifically benzyl
isothiocyanate (BITC), are known to provide chemoprotective
activity. Yan et al. reported BITC (from yellow maca) provided
“excellent cytotoxicity” on tumor cell lines (leukemia HL-60, lung
cancer A549, liver cancer SMMC-7721, breast cancer MCF-7, and
colon cancer SW480), with higher effects than an antitumor drug (2).
Similarly, macamides, a compound unique to maca, were found to have the highest free radical scavenging capacity and inhibitory effects on the same cancer cell lines (3), with one study showing macamide B to inhibit the proliferation of lung cancer cells (4).
Additionally, cytotoxic properties of maca are reported for prostate, cervical, bladder, ovarian, upper gastrointestinal, and skin cancer cell lines (5,6). One study reported Peruvian maca could be a potential therapy for glioblastoma as it inhibits YAP-1 and PARP-1, proteins that, when overexpressed, contribute to the progression of this cancer (7). Further, one animal study reported maca to be protective against testicular damage caused by radiation for the treatment of cancer (8).
Polysaccharides of maca have multiple immunomodulatory effects. In a cell study, one component of maca polysaccharides (MCP2) demonstrated the strongest immunosuppressive effect significantly delaying tumor growth and enhance anti-tumor effect of a common chemotherapeutic drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), by regulating CD4+ T cells(9).
Image credit: Minich DM, Henning M, Darley C, Fahoum M, Schuler CB, Frame J. Is Melatonin the "Next Vitamin D"?: A Review of Emerging Science, Clinical Uses, Safety, and Dietary Supplements. Nutrients. 2022;14(19):3934. Published 2022 Sep 22. doi:10.3390/nu14193934 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Image credit: Cao F, Zhang H, Yan Y, Chang Y, Ma J. Extraction of polysaccharides from Maca enhances the treatment effect of 5-FU by regulating CD4+T cells. Heliyon. 2023;9(6):e16495. Published 2023 May 24. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16495. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Thiohydantins are a lesser-researched class of phytochemicals within maca, with conflicting results. Dating back to 1996, one study found a series of 2-thiohydantoin derivatives provided antitumor activity (10), with a newer study showing macathioureas A-D, derived from Chinese maca, to have no significant cytotoxic activity against five cancer cell lines (11).
Of note, red maca is most researched for its positive effects on prostate health. A 2024 in vitro study investigated the cytotoxicity effects of black maca, red maca (Lepidium peruvianum) and saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), alone or in combination, on three human prostate cancer cell lines: LNCaP (androgen-sensitive human prostate adenocarcinoma cells derived from the lymph node metastasis), DU145 (primary prostate adenocarcinoma derived from ta central nervous system metastasis), and PC3 (prostate cancer cell line derived from bone metastasis). The researchers used the human prostate epithelial cell line PNT2 as the non-cancer control and compared the cytotoxic effects against the commonly used chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).
The researchers found:
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Black maca small and large hypocotyl samples were more cytotoxic for the LNCaP and DU145 cell lines, though the small size was significantly more active compared to the large size.
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Red maca hypocotyl samples were only cytotoxic for LNCaP cell lines, with the small hypocotyl sizes being more cytotoxic than the large hypocotyl sizes.
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The LNCaP cell lines were most sensitive to the maca treatment with comparable effects to 5-FU
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Neither color showed cytotoxic effects on the healthy epithelial prostate cells, demonstrating the targeted effects on cancer cells only.
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The synergistic effect of black and red maca and saw palmetto had the greatest impact on the LNCaP cell line
The primary mechanism of action creating this positive outcome is noted to be the inhibition of COX-2 and antioxidant activity (12).
While limited, the cell and animal studies conducted on maca’s anticancer properties are promising and will likely lead to human clinical trials in the future.
Written by Kim Ross, DCN
Reviewed by Deanna Minich, PhD
Last Updated April 22, 2025
References
1. Minich DM, Ross K, Frame J, Fahoum M, Warner W, Meissner HO. Not All Maca Is Created Equal: A Review of Colors, Nutrition, Phytochemicals, and Clinical Uses. Nutrients. 2024 Feb 14;16(4):530.
2. Yan S, Wei J, Chen R. Evaluation of the Biological Activity of Glucosinolates and Their Enzymolysis Products Obtained from Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Maca). Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(23).
3. Fu L, Wei J, Gao Y, Chen R. Antioxidant and antitumoral activities of isolated macamide and macaene fractions from Lepidium meyenii (Maca). Talanta. 2021;221.
4. Tao H, Shi H, Wang M, Xu Y. Macamide B suppresses lung cancer progression potentially via the ATM signaling pathway. Oncol Lett. 2023 Mar;25(3):115.
5. Kasprzak D, Gaweł-Bęben K, Kukula-Koch W, Strzępek-Gomółka M, Wawruszak A, Woźniak S, et al. Lepidium peruvianum as a Source of Compounds with Anticancer and Cosmetic Applications. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Oct 8;25(19):10816.
6. Tóth S, Szlávik MF, Mandel R, Fekecs F, Tusnády G, Vajda F, et al. Synthesis and Systematic Investigation of Lepidiline A and Its Gold(I), Silver(I), and Copper(I) Complexes Using In Vitro Cancer Models and Multipotent Stem Cells. ACS Omega. 2024 Jul 23;9(29):32226–34.
7. Turpo-Peqqueña AG, Luna-Prado S, Valencia-Arce RJ, Del-Carpio-Carrazco FL, Gómez B. A Theoretical Study on the Efficacy and Mechanism of Combined YAP-1 and PARP-1 Inhibitors in the Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme Using Peruvian Maca Lepidium meyenii. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2025 Jan 9;47(1).
8. Mekkawy MH, Abdou FY, Ali MM, Abd-ElRaouf A. A novel approach of using Maca root as a radioprotector in a rat testicular damage model focusing on GRP78/CHOP/Caspase-3 pathway. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2024;755.
9. Cao F, Zhang H, Yan Y, Chang Y, Ma J. Extraction of polysaccharides from Maca enhances the treatment effect of 5-FU by regulating CD4+T cells. Heliyon. 2023 Jun;9(6):e16495.
10. Al-Obaid AM, El-Subbagh HI, Khodair A, Elmazar MMA. 5-Substituted-2-thiohydantoin analogs as a novel class of antitumor agents. Anticancer Drugs. 1996;7(8).
11. Geng HC, Wang XS, Chen N, Lv JJ, Zhou M. Macathioureas A-D, four new thiourea analogues from the roots of Lepidium meyenii. Fitoterapia. 2023 Jul;168:105521.
12. Gaweł-Bęben K, Kukula-Koch W, Szwajgier D, Antosiewicz-Klimczak B, Orihuela-Campos RC, Głowniak K, et al. Synergism of Specific Maca Phenotypes (Lepidium peruvianum) in Combination with Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) Extract for Chemoprevention of Prostate Cancer as Determined in In Vitro Cytotoxicity Assays on Human Epithelial and Prostate Cancer Cells. Molecules. 2024 Nov 28;29(23).