indicate a potential safety issue as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (re. which see β-carboline) and possibility as a mutagen. Due to these potential mutagenic properties of MTCA, the Agency for Sanitary Security in France warned consumers about the possible health risks of powdered maca root, a declaration disputed on the assumption that MTCA would be deactivated by boiling to process maca roots. MTCA-like compounds are associated with craving behaviour. Marketing Due to its purported effects on fertility, maca grew in agricultural, commercial, and research interest over the decades of the 1990s to 2014. Market studies showed low acceptance of the particular maca taste by consumers when first exposed to it, creating a barrier for popularity of this food as a culinary vegetable. The economic interest existed more in the perceived, but unproven, health effects of the root's constituents supplied as an extract in a dietary supplement. By 2014, agricultural and market interest for maca grew in China, but with challenges from Peruvian institutions who accused Chinese companies of illegally exporting maca and of biopiracy, as several Chinese patents had been filed to improve the propagation and genetic diversity of maca. Uses and preparation Maca is mainly grown for consumption of its root. The majority of harvested maca is dried. In this form, the hypocotyls can be stored for several years. In Peru, maca is prepared and consumed in various ways, although traditionally it is always cooked. The freshly harvested hypocotyl may be roasted in a pit (called huatia), and is considered a delicacy. Fresh roots usually are available only in the vicinity of the growers. The root can also be mashed and boiled to produce a sweet, thick liquid, then dried and mixed with milk to form a porridge, mazamorra. The cooked roots are also used with other vegetables in empanadas, jams, or soups. The root may be ground to produce a flour for bread, cakes, or pancakes. If fermented, a weak beer called chicha de maca may be produced. In 2010, a U.S.-based brewery, called Andean Brewing Company, became the first company to produce and commercialize beer made from maca under the brand KUKA Beer. From the black morphotype, a liquor is produced. Also, the leaves are edible or may serve as animal fodder. They can be prepared raw in salads or cooked much like L. sativum and L. campestre, to which it is closely related genetically. The prominent