The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Maca water and/or ethanol extract on the nitric oxide (NO) production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells HUVAC and on erectile dysfunction in rats. Maca was extracted due to both solutions, which are water and ethanol. Each Maca extract was applied to HUVAC, and NO production was checked. Additionally, three different dosages (250, 500 and 1,000 mg/kg) of Maca ethanol extract was administered to Sprague-Dawley rats for 4 weeks. All rats were sacrificed and each sample was collected for analysis. The control rats received only the saline vehicle. The NO production of HUVAC was significantly increased by domestic and homemade Maca water extracted at 60℃ group. Both NO generation and testosterone release were not influenced due to the oral administration of Maca. In the EtOH group rats, the number of sperm was reduced compared to that of the control group. All Maca groups had a high number of sperm and each sperm count had increased as a result of the Maca extract dose. The results of this research suggest that Maca has a positive effect on male erectile dysfunction, which need to be examined further in future studies.

Abstract
 서 론
 재료 및 방법
  1. 추출물 제조
  2. 일반성분 분석
  3. 세포주와 세포배양
  4. NO (nitric oxide) 농도 측정
  5. 실험동물의 사육 및 식이
  6. 채혈 및 조직의 채취
  7. 정소 내 정자 수의 측정
  8. 음경 해면체 분리 및 해면체 내 NO 분석
  9. 혈중 testosterone 분석
  10. 통계처리
 결과 및 고찰
  1. 국내산 마카의 일반성분 분석
  2. HUVEC 세포에서 NO의 농도 변화
  3. 체중증가량, 음수섭취량 및 식이섭취량
  4. 마카를 투여한 실험동물의 생식장기 및 정자수 변화
  5. 마카가 실험동물의 음경해면체 내 NO 생성에 미치는 영향
  6. 마카가 실험동물의 혈청 내 testosterone 농도에 미치는 영향
  7. 마카가 실험동물의 혈청 내 GOT와 GPT 농도에 미치는 영향
 요약 및 결론
 References

• 최혜란((재)베리&바이오식품연구소) | Hye Ran Choi
• 이민정(세계김치연구소) | Min Jung Lee
• 이수정((재)베리&바이오식품연구소) | Su Jung Lee
• 박희전((재)베리&바이오식품연구소) | Hee Jeon Park
• 송지영((재)베리&바이오식품연구소) | Ji-Young Song
• 김일수(가온직이농장) | Il Su Kim
• 신대근((재)베리&바이오식품연구소) | Daekeun Shin Corresponding author