Bioprospecting, disparaged as biopiracy, regards extracting and processing organic medicinal ingredients found in indigenous plants, the medical properties known, sometimes for thousands of years. But that doesn't stop patenting for extraction or refinement processes, or compositions using those ingredients; hence the controversy.

There are currently seven U.S. patents about maca processing and usage: 6093421 "Maca and antler for augmenting testosterone levels"; 6368617 "Dietary supplement", 6444237 "Herbal composition for enhancing sexual response". Pure World Botanicals has four maca patents: 6267995 "Extract of Lepidium meyenii roots for pharmaceutical applications"; 6428824 "Treatment of sexual dysfunction with an extract of Lepidium meyenii roots"; 6552206 "Compositions and methods for their preparation from lepidium"; 6878731 "Imidazole alkaloids from Lepidium meyenii and methods of usage". There are seven pending published U.S. patent applications.

Here's the USA Today version of the Associated Press article about bioprospecting.