| Lepidium meyenii Walp.,with the local name of Maca,is a native herbaceous plant commonly known as “Peruvian ginseng” and traditionally cultivated in the Andes Mountains of Peru.In recent years,Maca has been introduced successfully in Yunnan,Xinjiang and Jilin Province of China and has formed a large scale of planting and industrial development in Yunnan.Maca have been proven to contain abundant polysaccharides,proteins and free fatty acids,particularly palmitic,linoleic,and oleic acids so that it can enhance fertility,improve sexual functions and spermatogenesis,aid in menopausal syndrome treatment,demonstrate antiviral activity and improve neuronal function.Comparing with other drugs,Maca owns more advantages in security and non-side effects.However,due to the uneven qualities and rough productive process of Maca in Yunnan,local government and companies are facing a huge threat to their industrial development.In this paper,the effects of different ecotypes and origins of Maca from Yunnan on the sexual function of male mice were studied,and the most effective varietie is screened out.Then based on that specie,the difference among four fineness(80,150,375,750 meshes)and two extracts(water extract,ethanol extract)on sexual function and intestineal of male mice are investigated.This study aims at offering experimental data and laying a solid foundation for Maca's intensive processing and relavent natural health care products.The main findings are as follows:(1)The effects of Maca root powder of different origins and ecotypes on the sexual function of male mice.We use dry powders(150 mesh)of Maca from three origins(Lijiang,Yunnan;Huize,Yunnan;Peru)and three ecotypes(black,purple and yellow)(LB,LP,LY,HB,PB)as research material to feed male mice for 4 weeks,sildenafil as a positive control and the results are as follows:(1)In sexual behavior,compared with the blank control group,Maca from different area could significantly shorten the latency of capture(CL)(p<0.01)and insert(IL)(p<0.05),Maca from Yunnan showed a better effect on mounting latency(ML),post-ejaculation latency(PEL)and mounting times(MT).Black Maca from Huize was the most effective group,it could significantly affect CL?ML?IL?PEL(p<0.01).Both black and yellow Maca from Lijiang express a better effect on times of capture(CT),mounting(MT)and insert(IT).Compared with the positive group,black Maca from Lijiang and Huize do better on PEL(p<0.01)?IL and ML(p<0.05)(2)In reproductive organ index,there are no significant changes in the indexes of those organs comparing with both blank and positive group,which indicating the security and health of Maca.(3)In the serum hormone level,compared with the blank control group,black maca from Lijiang and Huize and the positive control group can increase the NO concentration in serum(p<0.01),but no significant effect on testosterone.Indicating that Maca has no hormone-like activity,and the black maca may regulate sexual function through affecting the NO synthesis and secretion pathway.(4)In testis' s antioxidant activity and sperm count and motility,with the intake of Maca,the activity of SOD in the testis is significantly enhanced and the content of MDA decreased,black Maca from Lijiang and Huize's effect was the best,the differences were significant(p<0.01).A same tendency of sperm counts and motility shows a protection of spermatogenic cells which could improve the sperm quantity and motility.(5)Determination of brain monoamine substances in mice shows that Maca increases the content of serotonin in brain to improve sexual response of central regulatory mechanism to enhance sexual desire.Among them,the effect of purple Maca from Lijiang is the most significant.(6)Maca could pose a positive effect on the penis of male mice,improve penile erectile structure by increasing the smooth muscle fibers of the corpus cavernosum,inhibit collagen fiber proliferation,and thus make the penile erect more powerful and lasting.Positive control group's penis corpus cavernosum arrangement is loose,compared with the blank group,its albuginea is thicker,may be it is relevant with penile fibrosis.According to the above study,the overall comparison of the results of the order: HB>LB>LP>PB>LY.Different origin effect order: Huize> Lijiang> Peru.Different color effect order: black Maca> Purple Maca> Yellow Maca.Both Maca and sildenafil can increase serum NO content but no significant impact on testosterone,in addition,Maca has health effects on testes,sperm,penis and shows a more comprehensive enhancement on sexual function.(2)Effects of different fineness of Maca dried powder and water or ethanol extract on sexual function of male mice.Using the screening ecotypes at last chapter(black maca from Huize)as material,feeding male mice with different fineness(80,150,375,750 mesh)of Maca dried powder and water(W)or ethanol extracts(E)for 4 weeks to investigate the effect of sexual function of male mice.Research indicates:(1)In sexual behavior,compared with the blank control group,the shortening effect of Maca dry powder on CL,ML,IL and the increasing effect of EL are influenced with the increase of fineness,and the best effect is 750 meshes,which shows a significant enhancement on libido.The effect of 375 mesh on CT,MT and IT is more markable,but not as short as PEL.The effect of water extract was better than that of alcohol extract and 80,150 mesh powder,especially in EL and PEL.Comparing with positive group,all Maca group showed a significant difference in IL(p<0.05),but only 750 and W showed difference in EL(p<0.05).(2)In the organ index,compared with the blank group,the experimental group of kidney,testis,seminal vesicle and epididymal organ index were no significant difference(p>0.05),indicating good safety of Maca.However,375 mesh group's testis' organ index showed a significant difference with positive group(p<0.05),which could be relevant with sildenafil's reproductive toxicity.(3)Compared with BC group,serum testosterone had no significant changes with Maca or sildenafil's administration(p>0.05),but the NO level in serum was significantly increased in 750,W groups(p<0.01)and 150,375,PC group(p<0.05).Compared with the PC group,750 samples of serum NO increased significantly(p<0.05).All those results indicate that 750 and W group's better expression on EL?PEL?IT are related to their role of stimulating NO's release.(4)Maca can significantly enhance the antioxidant activity of mouse testes,comparing with BC,all experimental group(except E,PC group)can significantly enhance the activity of SOD(p<0.05).80(p<0.01)and 150,375,W(p<0.05)could significantly increase the activity of CAT.W(p<0.01)and 80(p<0.05)group could significantly increase the activity of GSH-Px.375,150,80,W showed a difference on the total antioxidant enzyme activities(p<0.05).W,375 group(p<0.01)and 150,750,E group(p<0.05)decreased the content of MDA significantly.Comparing with the positive group,the activity of GSH-Px was significantly different in W group(p<0.01)and 80(p<0.05)group,375,150,80 and W group express a difference in total antioxidant enzyme activity(p<0.05),MDA content was not different significantly(p>0.05).The difference of the effect in antioxidant activity of testis was consistent with the increase of sperm count and activity as the following order: 375>150>W>80>750>E>PC>BC.(5)Brain monoamine substances in this study showed no differences with the preceding chapter: Maca dry powder and water or alcohol extract showed no significant changes in the dopamine(p>0.05).but dry poweder(except 80 mesh)and W group could increase the content of 5-hydroxytryptamine in brain,comparing with both BC and PC(p<0.05).sildenafil did not change the level of DA and 5-HT(p>0.05),indicating that Maca enhances sexual desire through affecting 5-HT of brain,and then shorten CL,ML,IL.(6)In the penile tissue,375,W group's penile cavernous sinus cavity is the most obvious,arrangeing in close order sponge so that penis could filled with blood faster and erection quickly.750 group's albuginea is thicker than other groups,and this might be the reason that 750 mice's less good behavior of CT,MT,IT than 375.Then the durability and ejaculation latency of penis increased.According to the above study,the order of comprehensive effect on sexual function of mice is: 375>750>W>E>150>80.The effective order of different fineness of Maca dried powder is: 375>750>150>80.The effective order of different processing method is: Maca dried powder>water extract>ethanol extract.(3)Effects of different fineness of Maca dried powder and water or ethanol extracts on intestine of male mice.Using the screening ecotypes at last chapter(black maca from Huize)as material,feeding male mice with different fineness(80,150,375,750 mesh)of Maca dried powder and water(W)or ethanol extracts(E)for 4 weeks to investigate the effect of intestine of male mice.The results are as follows:(1)Compared with the BC group,the dried powder of Maca had a significant decrease on the food intake of mice(p<0.01),but the 750-mesh diet increased oppositely,indicating that the superfine powder is beneficial to the ingestion of mice,and it is speculated that the ultrafine comminution could crush plant cell walls and change water-insoluble dietary fiber into water-soluble dietary fiber.Compared with BC and PC,the mice's weight of W and E decreased significantly(p<0.01)and W's food intake reduced either(p<0.05).It could be related to the difference between the extract and the dry powder in the dietary fiber content.(2)Dry powder and extracts could promote the growth of cecum and increase the weight and inner surface of cecal wall,compared with BC,the weight of cecal wall of PC,E group and the surface of cecal wall of PC,W,E group increased significantly(p<0.05).In general,the effect of 750 mesh dry powder was better than that of other dry powder group.The effect of water and alcohol extract group was better than that of dry powder group.(3)In the fecal water content and pH,compared with the BC group,the dry powder groups could significantly increase the fecal water content(p<0.05)and decrease the pH(p<0.01),which was more favorable for defecation and intestinal growth.On the contrary,W group's fecal pH increased.The difference in pH may be related to the difference of carbohydrate,fiber and protein content among the dry powder,water and alcohol extract.The protein and amino acid content of W group is higher,so the pH value of fecal matter is increased at the end of the intestinal tract.(4)Maca dried powder and extract can increase the content of short chain fatty acids in feces,reduce the number of harmful bacteria in the intestine.The results showed that the content of short-chain fatty acids of 750 and W,E groups was the highest,and it was suggested that there were more carbohydrates in the750,W and E groups,and more short-chain fatty acids were produced by the glycolysis.At the same time,the acidic environment was more favorable for the growth of intestinal beneficial bacteria,reduce the number of harmful bacteria in intestine.According to the above study,the overall effect of intestinal health in mice was sorted: 750>E>W>150>375>80.The order of effect on different fineness is: 750>150>375>80.The order of effect on different extracting methods are: dried powder> ethanol extract>water extract.In summary,the Maca's improvement of sexual function in male mice was multi-angle interaction: by increasing serum NO,brain 5-hydroxytryptamine level,improving penile tissue structure to significantly improve sexual behavior,shorten the latency,Increase the frequency of sexual behavior;By enhancing the testicular antioxidant to significantly increase the number of sperm and sperm motility.The effect of different origin,color and processing on sexual function and intestinal production in mice was different: in the sexual function,the effect of 375 mesh dry powder or water extract was better.In the intestinal tract,750 mesh or water,alcohol extract is better. |
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