Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a root vegetable in the mustard family grown high in the Andes of Peru. As a supplement, usually a root powder, it is used for libido and sexual function and is also marketed for energy and fertility.
Also known as: Lepidium meyenii.
Maca has no intake value or upper limit, and there is no NIH fact sheet for it. A 12-week trial in healthy men (Gonzales 2003) used 1,500 mg or 3,000 mg a day of gelatinized maca. These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling. There is no FDA-approved maca drug.
A 2010 systematic review (Shin) found 4 small randomized trials: two suggested benefits for sexual function or desire in healthy menopausal women or healthy men, one found no effect in cyclists, and one found an effect in men with erectile dysfunction. The authors said the evidence is limited and the trials too few and small for firm conclusions. In a 12-week trial in healthy men aged 21 to 56 (Gonzales 2003), maca did not change testosterone, estradiol, luteinizing hormone or other reproductive hormones compared with placebo.
Because there is no NIH fact sheet for maca, its safety over long periods, in pregnancy and with medicines has not been summarized by NIH. Ask your clinician before adding it, especially alongside hormone treatment.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for maca that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one.
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