Maca

Does maca improve sexual desire?

A 2010 systematic review found four randomized trials. Some reported better sexual function or desire in adults, including menopausal women; a trial in cyclists did not show the same benefit. Small samples and methodological weaknesses kept the reviewers from drawing a firm conclusion. 1

One 12-week placebo-controlled trial in healthy men aged 21–56 used 1.5 or 3 g of gelatinized maca daily. Desire improved from eight weeks, without a corresponding change in testosterone or estradiol. A reported change in desire is therefore not evidence of a testosterone increase. 2

What happened in the menopause trial?

Fourteen postmenopausal women completed a crossover study: six weeks of 3.5 g maca powder daily and six weeks of placebo, in either order. Psychological symptom scores, including anxiety and depression, and sexual dysfunction scores improved with maca. Measured reproductive hormones did not differ. 3

This is a useful early signal for symptoms after menopause. Fourteen participants cannot establish a general treatment for mood disorders, and a postmenopausal study does not answer questions about menstrual symptoms in younger women. 3

Do better semen measures mean better fertility?

A 2022 review included five randomized trials, with mixed findings in healthy and infertile men. The pooled analysis in infertile men did not find a statistically significant increase in sperm concentration. Its uncertainty was compatible with both a decrease and an increase. 4

The review concerns semen measurements. It does not establish that maca increases the chance of pregnancy or a live birth, so the fertility question remains more demanding than the laboratory question. 4

Can the exercise findings translate to a workout?

A review published in December 2024 included 17 animal studies and four human studies. The animal experiments reported improvements in several performance tests, but the human evidence was too sparse for a pooled effect estimate. The large pooled effects in this paper should not be read as expected gains for people. 5

The human results also varied. For example, one study in adult women found no significant difference between maca and placebo on a subjective rating, despite improvement from baseline in both groups. Questions about exercise performance and fatigue remain worth testing with better human comparisons. 5

Is “hormone balance” the right description?

In the healthy-men desire trial and the small postmenopausal crossover trial, the reported benefits occurred without changes in the measured reproductive hormones. Those findings do not support describing those particular results as a rise in testosterone or estrogen. They also do not rule out every other biological pathway. 2 3