Maca is found in many dietary supplements sold in health food markets or through various online vendors. Maca extract is associated with a way to enhance sexual libido and sexual performance, as well as increase fertility. However, there's still little clinical evidence to suggest that it's definitively useful for any one medical condition, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
About the Maca Root
Maca root has been used as a staple food in South America for more than 2,000 years, according to the Natural Standard website. This cruciferous vegetable falls within the mustard family and is related to turnips and radishes, says the University of Michigan Health System. It primarily grows in the Andes Mountains in Peru, where it's used as both food and medicine. Maca root can be consumed baked, dried, mixed with milk to make a porridge or added to other dishes.
Properties and Uses
Maca supplements are recommended to address infertility, sexual performance, symptoms of menopause, cancer and overall strength and endurance. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center explains that maca extract's active constituents may come from the vegetable's glucosinolates, specifically isothiocyanates, which are believed to give the root its fertility-enhancing properties. However, the way in which maca extract may act as an aphrodisiac is "confounding," says the center, which goes on to state that a limited number of studies suggest that it can improve sexual performance without having an effect on serum hormone levels in the blood.
Preparations
Preparations that contain maca extract typically consist of capsules that contain the dried root, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Maca may also go by the names maca-maca, maino, ayak, ayak willku and ayak chichira.
What Science Says
There are no clinical trials--studies on human participants--to suggest that maca has an effect on infertility, symptoms of menopause, cancer or strength and stamina. However, a couple of human studies suggest that it may increase sexual desire, says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, as well as sperm count and sperm motility. However, one study contained "a number of statistical flaws," which may render the results of the study less valid, and the other trial was not randomized," says the center. Additional studies are needed to ascertain if maca extract is beneficial for sexual performance.
Cautions and Concerns
The Natural Standard points out that maca root has been consumed by native Peruvians in large quantities for thousands of years, so it's unlikely that it causes toxicity. The University of Michigan Health System cautions that glucosinolates can cause a swollen thyroid gland, or goiter, when added to a low-iodine diet and used in excess, although it's not known if maca itself can cause goiter. No drugs are known to interact with maca. Dietary supplements that contain maca extract do not go through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's rigorous approval process for medications. Supplements that contain maca cannot purport to treat or cure any specific medical condition.
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