What is it?
Maca is a plant that grows on the high plateaus of the Andes Mountains. It’s been cultivated as a root vegetable for at least 3000 years. The root is also used to make medicine, but there isn’t enough reliable information available to know how maca might work.
People take maca by mouth for male infertility, health problems after menopause, increasing sexual desire in healthy people, and other purposes, but there is no good scientific evidence to support any of these uses.
How effective is it?
There is interest in using maca for a number of purposes, but there isn’t enough reliable information to say whether it might be helpful.
Is it safe?
Special precautions & warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn’t enough reliable information to know if maca is safe to use when pregnant or breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and stick to food amounts.
Hormone-sensitive conditions such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids: Extracts from maca might act like estrogen. If you have any condition that might be made worse by estrogen, do not use these extracts.
Are there interactions with medications?
- It is not known if this product interacts with any medicines.
Before taking this product, talk with your health professional if you take any medications.
Are there interactions with herbs and supplements?
- There are no known interactions with herbs and supplements.
Are there interactions with foods?
- There are no known interactions with foods.
How is it typically used?
Methodology
To learn more about how this article was written, please see the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database methodology.
References
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- Zhu H, Xu W, Wang N, et al. Anti-fatigue effect of Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Maca) on preventing mitochondria-mediated muscle damage and oxidative stress in vivo and vitro. Food Funct 2021;12:3132-3141. View abstract.
- Alcalde AM, Rabasa J. Does Lepidium meyenii (Maca) improve seminal quality? Andrologia 2020; Jul 12:e13755. doi: 10.1111/and.13755. View abstract.
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- National Academy of Science. Lost Crops of the Incas Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation . Available at: http://books.nap.edu/books/030904264X/html/57.html
07/11/2022