Development of Maca production and post-harvest processing based on a condensation-drying process with heat pump technology for health promoting ingredients enrichment

Maca (Lepidium peruvianum Chacón) is a biennial plant in the Brassicaceae family adapted for growth in mountainous regions in central Peru. Maca has been cultivated for two thousand years by the local population for consumption of hypocotyls both as food and traditional medicine. Nowadays dried maca powder is the most common commercially available maca product. Drying process is a crucial post-harvest process, which significantly improves the nutritional value of maca due to accumulation of bioactive compounds such as glucosinolates and macamides. Furthermore, maca powder contains protein and amino acids.

The aim of this research work is to develop a method for cultivation of maca hypocotyls under temperate climate conditions in Germany and to investigate the effect of various temperatures during post-harvest drying processes on the concentration of health-promoting components. Yellow and red maca cultivars were cultivated at different seasons during 2017 and 2018 at the agricultural experimental station of the University of Hohenheim in Renningen, Germany. Harvested maca hypocotyls were dried at various temperatures using heat pump technology. Dried hypocotyls were grinded into a fine powder for the bioactive compounds characterization using analytical methods. The results of the present study provide important information for industrial production of maca powder and related products with enhanced content of bioactive compounds.