Effects of Maca

Maca, a Peruvian root vegetable, has been used as a food for centuries in its native land. Maca grows all over South America, and there are over 400 species, but only the Peruvian-grown maca is considered medicinal. Maca is a highly concentrated nutritional source of many minerals, including calcium and magnesium, B vitamins, antioxidants and hormone-like substances.

Stress

A 2005 "International Journal of Biomedical Science" article investigated maca's short- and long-term physiological effects on rats. The article concluded that maca reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol, making the rats less susceptible to stress factors. The study confirmed earlier observations that maca, depending on dose and length of regimen, can act as an adaptogen, or a substance that positively modulates the body's response to physical, biochemical and psychological stressors. Increased energy and vitality were also noted in the article, and the researches concluded that maca may benefit competitive athletes and physically active people.

Menopause

Maca contains no plant hormones. This finding was established in the 1960s by one of maca's pioneering researchers, Gloria Chacon, Ph.D. Although plant hormones are not responsible for its beneficial effects on menopause symptoms, Chacon and other researchers note that the plant's alkaloids interact with the hypothalamus-pituitary axis in the brain, eliciting maca's hormonal effects in the brain first. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is produced in the pituitary gland and is found in high levels in menopause. FSH stimulates the ovaries to produce estrogen; when estrogen levels decline during menopause, FSH levels increase to try to provide a stronger stimulation. High FSH is a clinical indicator of menopause on blood tests. In another study cited in a 2005 "International Journal of Biomedical Science" article, a maca supplement given to early post-menopausal women at a dose of 2 g per day significantly lowered FSH and resulted in a significant increase in estrogen after eight months. All menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, fatigue and the "blues" improved in this study.

Fertility

For reasons not related to increases in hormones as a result of maca administration, aspects of male fertility, including increases in semen volume, total sperm count, motile sperm count and sperm motility, were improved in a small study, according to a 2001 "Asian Journal of Andrology" article. The doses in the study were tablets totaling 1,500 or 3,000 mg per day for four months, and the study was performed in 24- to 44-year-old normal men.