Articles about Maca

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A lot has been written about Maca in both scientific and non-scientific articles. Below you find a selection of these articles. We have chosen the articles that we think are interesting and relevant. The majority are in English. We hope that these articles help to explain the special effect of Maca.

"Take Control Of Your Health And Escape The Sickness Industry" Elaine Hollingsworth

"The only energy boosters I know of which are effective and safe are Ambrotose, by Mannatech, which is effective but expensive, and Peruvian Maca, which is effective and inexpensive. Both of those remedies support, rather than whip, the glands. Both work gently and slowly, building gradually to increase energy and wellbeing. Ambrotose is relatively new, Maca is ancient, having been used in Peru for 10,000 years with great success."

"We think Maca is the finest food supplement yet discovered. It is grown at 14,000 feet elevation, in the unpolluted Peruvian Andes."

Medical Journal Report On Sex Enhancing Herbal Extract

Urology, a major peer-reviewed medical journal that first published the Viagra study, will publish a study confirming the sex-enhancing effects of an extract of Maca, a root from the central highlands of Peru. "This is a significant development in maca research, and a breakthrough for the herbal industry," says Dr. David Forrester. "This is a very unusual development for a major medical journal to publish findings on a sex-enhancing herb.

"Since the release of the drug Viagra, a plethora of supplement companies have marketed herbal products purported to enhance libido and sexual function. But these products have lacked clinical validation. In the study which will appear in the April 2000 issue of Urology, mice fed Maca Root extract exhibited a significant increase in sexual activity when compared to the control group.

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) has been used by Peruvians for centuries as an energy and sex-enhancing botanical. To investigate traditional maca use and cultivation, the Peruvian government sponsored research in the Andes highlands (see Expedition Bulletin). To unlock maca's chemical secrets, scientists conducted the most comprehensive analysis of maca ever performed. Under the direction of Dr. Qun Yi Zheng, chemists discovered several previously unknown compounds in the plant.

To ensure product safety, a cultivator donated an industry brand extract for oral toxicity testing. The results revealed no toxicity and an absence of adverse pharmacalogic effects. Further in vivo studies showed that the maca extract promotes libido, sexual potency and energy. Animals fed the extract greatly increased their sexual activity, engaging in sex far more frequently than usual. The Urology article, authored by Dr. Zheng and colleagues, describes the studies.

Anecdotal reports from individuals given Maca further confirm the sex-enhancing effects of the extract. Users claim a significant increase in libido, enhanced sexual function, and increased frequency of sex.

Article: Female Viagra! (Source: the Scottish Herbal News Media)

In Scotland, a natural aphrodisiac being touted as the Female Viagra is being supplied. The liquid extract is said to be of benefit in boosting the libido of both sexes but of particular value to females. Harvested 13,000 feet up in the central Andes, the herb was considered so potent that the Incas confined its use to their royal family. After almost becoming extinct, the plant's properties to improve sex lives and fertility are again being seized on in the wake of the world-wide Viagra craze.
From only a few acres of the crop in 1995, there are now 1500 acres with plans to plant a further 5000 acres. The liquid Maca, Express Extract, "fully unlocks the potential of what the Incas called their superfood", say Herbal propionates in Europe, "It's very hot stuff and it's going to be very big as it does not have any side-effects." Apart from increasing sexual stamina and fertility, its other uses include hormone re-placement therapy and the easing of pre-menstrual tension. While some companies are seeking patents on the products derived from Maca, others consider it a gift to the world and offer it without a patent.

Maca Lab Study and Report:
(2000, Elsevier Science Inc., the Journal of Urology, volume #55, 2000)
Effects of a Lipidic Extract from Lepidium Meyenii on sexual behavior in Mice and Rats.

Zheng BL, He K, Kim CH, Rogers L, Shao Y, Huang ZY, Lu Y, Yan SJ, Qien LC, Zheng QY. Pure World Botanicals, Inc., South Hackensack, New Jersey, USA.

This study reveals for the first time an aphrodisiac activity of L. Meyenii, an Andean mountain herb.

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of oral administration of a purified lipidic extract from lepidium meyenii/peruvianum (M-01 M-02) on the number of complete intromissions and mating in normal mice, and on the latent period of erection (LPE) in rats with erectile dysfunction.

METHODS: Mice and rats were randomly divided into several experimental and control groups. A 10% ethanol suspension of M-01 and M-02 was orally administered for 22 days to the experimental groups according to the dosage specified by the experimental design. On day 22, 30 minutes after the dose was administered to the male mice, 2 virgin female mice were placed with 1 male mouse. The number of complete intromissions of each male mouse in 3 hours was recorded. In an assessment of 1 day of mating, each male mouse was cohabited with 5 estrous female mice overnight. The number of sperm-positive females was recorded. The LPE was measured to asses the sexual function in rats with erectile dysfunction. By using a YSD-4G multifunction instrument, an electric pulse at 20 V was applied to stimulate the rat`s penis, and the duration from the start to the stimulus to full erection was measured in seconds as the LPE.

RESULTS: In the normal male mice, the number of complete intromissions during the 3-hour period was 16.33 ? 1.78, 46.67 ? 2.39, and 67.01 ? 2.55 for the control group, M-01 group, and M-02 group, respectively. In the assessment of mating, the number of sperm-positive females increasede from 0.6 ? 0.7 in the control group to 1.5 ? 0.5 in the M-01 experimental group. LPE of male rats with erectile dysfunction was 112 ? 13 seconds with a regular diet (control group). The oral administration of M-01 at a dose of 180 or 1800 mg/kg body weight and M-02 at a dose of 45, 180, 1800 mg/kg body weight reduced the LPE to 54 ? 12 seconds, 54 ? 13 seconds, 71 ? 12 seconds, 73 ? seconds, and 41 ? 13 seconds, respectively. The LPE of the surgical rats treated with M-01 at the lowest dose (45 mg/kg) was 121 ? 12 seconds; thus, the change was not significant.

CONCLUSIONS: Oral administration of M-01 and M-02 enhanced the sexual function of the mice and rats, as evidenced by an increase in the number of complete intromissions and the number of sperm-positive females in normal mice, and decrease in the LPE in male rats with erectile dysfunction.

This study was conducted by: Bo Lin Zheng, Kan he, Calvin Hyungchan Kim, Lingling Rogers, Yu Shao, Zhen yen Huang, Yang lu, Sui jun Yan, Lu cheng Qien, and Qun yi Zheng at the Shenyang Medical College & Liaoning College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shenyang China, and also at the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Beijing, People?s Republic of China.

References: 1. Leon T: The "Maca" (Lepidium meyenii): a Little known food plant of Peru. Econ Bot 18: 122-127, 1964. 2. Chacon RC: Estudio fitoqu?mico de Lepidium meyenii Walp. Thesis, University Nac. Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru, 1961. 3. Zheng BL, Kim CH, He K, et al: A process for the isolation and purification of Lepidium meyenii. Patent pending, 1999. 4. National Clinical Test Procedure, FDA of China, 1998. 5. Hermann M, and Heller J: Andean Roots and Tubers: Ahipa, Arracacha, Maca and Yacom Rome, IPGRI, 1997, pp 175-195. 6. Cobo B: Historia del Nuevo Mundo. Biblioteca de Autores Espa?oles 81: 430, 1956. 7. Ruiz H: Relaci?n hist?rica del viaje a los reinos del Peru y Chile, 1777-1778, Madrid Acad. De Ciene Exaetas: Fis y Nat 1: 526, 1952. 8. Pulgar VJ: Las Maca Lepidium sp. Poderoso fecundante vegetal. La voz de Huancayo 24:10, 1964. 9. John T: The anu and the maca. J Ethnobiol 1: 208-212,1981.

Peruvian Maca Lab Study and Report: (Dr. Gloria Chacon, Lima- Peru)
Effects of Maca on the Endocrine Glands.
Dr. Gloria Chacon isolated four alkaloids from the maca root and carried out animal studies with male and female rats given either powdered maca root or alkaloids isolated from the roots. In comparison with the animal control groups, those receiving either root powder or alkaloids showed multiple egg follicle maturation in females and, in males, significantly higher sperm production and motility rates than control groups. Dr. Chacon established that it was the alkaloids in the maca root, not its plant hormones, that produced fertility effects on the ovaries and testes of the rats. These effects are measurable within 72 hours of dosing the animals,' she offered in a recent telephone interview from Lima, Peru.
Through the experiments, she deduced that the alkaloids were acting on the hypothalamus-pituitary gland, which explains why both male and female rats were afflicted in a gender-appropriate manner. This also explains why the effects in humans are not limited to ovaries and testes, but also act on the adrenals, giving a feeling of greater energy and vitality, and on the pancreas and thyroid as well.
Implications of Dr. Chacon's discovery of the pituitary stimulating effects of maca are enormous. What it appears to mean is that hormone replacement therapy, even the natural varieties, will no longer be the gold standard for optimising a holistic point of view.

Lepidium meyenii Walp. improves sexual behaviour in male rats
Independently from its action on spontaneous locomotor activity.

Cicero AF, Bandieri E, Arletti R. Biomedical Sciences Department, Pharmacology Section, University of Modena and Reggio nell'Emilia, Via G. Campi, 287, 41100, Modena, Italy.

Lepidium meyenii Walpers (Maca) is traditionally employed in the Andean region for its supposed properties to improve energy and fertility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acute and chronic Maca pulverised root oral administration on rat sexual behaviour. Sixty male sexually experienced rats (20 group) were daily treated for 15 days with Maca 15 mg kg(-1), Maca 75 mg kg(-1) or saline 0.5 ml kg(-1). The following sexual performance parameters were evaluated at first and last day of treatment: 1st mount (ML), 1st intromission (IL), ejaculation (EL) and postejaculatory (PEL) latencies, intercopulatory interval (ICI) and copulatory efficacy (CE). An activity cage test was carried out to evaluate if Maca-induced locomotion changes could indirectly improve rat sexual performances. It was observed that both lower and higher Maca doses acutely decreased ML, IL and ICI in a significant way (P < 0.05), while only the 75 mg kg(-1) dose decreased the PEL (T = 29, P < 0.05). This effect seems to be the only one dose-dependent. After 15 days of treatment, both doses are able to significantly decrease ML, IL, EL and PEL, while the 75 mg kg(-1) dose decreased the ICI (T = 40, P < 0.05) too. IL, EL and PEL variations seem to be dose-related after chronic treatment. Moreover, chronic Maca treatment induced an apparently not dose-related increase in rat locomotion, during the second 10-min period of observation in the activity cage. The late in Maca-induced locomotion modification excludes that improvement of tested sexual performance parameters is related to an increase in rat aspecific activity. Thus, it was concluded that both acute and chronic Maca oral administration significantly improve sexual performance parameters in male rats.

PMID: 11297856 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Article: (Physicians Note)
"Natural Viagra" (Notes from doctors Malaspina, Muller, and Chacon. Doctors Malaspina, Muller and Chacon, as well as doctors from the USA and Canada, have good news for men who are suffering age-related sexual dysfunction. They can forget expensive, possibly dangerous Viagra. Maca works extremely well and safely.
Dr. Jorge Aguila Calderon, Dean of the Faculty of Human Medicine at the National University of Federico Villareal in Lima, prescribes maca for a wide variety of conditions, including osteoporosis and the healing of bone fractures in the very elderly. He says, "Maca has a Lot of easily absorbable calcium in it, plus magnesium, and a fair amount of silica, which we are finding very useful in treating decalcification of bones in children and adults." Dr. Calderon has also helped patients overcome male impotence, male sterility, and female sterility by employing maca therapy. Additional problems he treats with maca are rickets, various forms of anaemia, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, climacteric and erectile difficulties in men, premature ageing, and general states of weakness, such as chronic fatigue.

Effect of Lepidium meyenii (maca) roots on spermatogenesis of male rats.
Gonzales GF, Ruiz A, Gonzales C, Villegas L, Cordova A.
Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. iiad@upch.edu.pe AIM: To determine the effect of oral administration of an aqueous extract from the roots of Lepidium meyenii (maca) on spermatogenesis in adult male rats. METHODS: Male rats received an aqueous extract of the root (66.7 mg in one mL) twice a day for 14 consecutive days. RESULTS: Treatment with Lepidium meyenii resulted in an increase in the weights of testis and epididymis but not the seminal vesicle weight. The length and frequency of stages IX-XIV seminiferous tubules, where mitosis occurred, were increased and stages I-VI were reduced in rats treated with Lepidium meyenii. CONCLUSION: The Lepidium meyenii root invigorates spermatogenesis in male rats by acting on its initial stages (IX-XIV). PMID: 11561196 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Article: (Physicians testimonial and Note)
Burton Goldberg, President of Alternative Medicine Publishing in Tiburon, California, whose latest book is "An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Cancer" is another enthusiast of maca. He says that when he tried maca he was very pleased with the results and began taking it regularly. "I'm a 72 year old man and this maca has taken 25 years off my aging sex life," declares Burton Goldberg. 'That's pretty important to me!" Dr. Garry Gordon is concerned about reproductive problems in today's world. "Society faces a huge problem of dropping sperm counts and sex hormone difficulties. But maca promises a nontoxic solution with no downside effects. It's a therapy that appears to offer men and women the chance for hormonal rejuvenation," concludes Dr. Gordon. "We currently live in an era in which almost everyone will be doing something to deal with the hormonal consequences of aging. And Maca is now readily available."

Lepidium meyenii (Maca) improved semen parameters in adult men.
Gonzales GF, Cordova A, Gonzales C, Chung A, Vega K, Villena A.
Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy and Instituto de Investigaciones de la Altura, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. iiad@upch.edu.pe

AIM: The present study was designed to determine the effect of a 4-month oral treatment with tablets of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on seminal analysis in nine adult normal men aged 24-44 years old. METHODS: Nine men received tablets of Maca (1500 or 3000 mg/day) for 4 months. Seminal analysis was performed according to guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO). Serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) were measured before and after treatment. RESULTS: Treatment with Maca resulted in increased seminal volume, sperm count per ejaculum, motile sperm count, and sperm motility. Serum hormone levels were not modified with Maca treatment. Increase of sperm count was not related to dose of Maca. CONCLUSION: Maca improved sperm production and sperm motility by mechanisms not related to LH, FSH, PRL, T and E2. PMID: 11753476 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Article: (Physician's note) (Source: Dr. Garry P. Gordan, American College for Advancement in Medicine.)
Maca as an Anti-Aging Herb for both men and women
Garry P. Gordon, MD, former president of the American College for Advancement in Medicine, now Founder and President of the International College of advanced Longevity Medicine, located in Chicago, Illinois, bases his appreciation of maca on his own experience with it. Speaking with me from Payson, Arizona, Dr. Gordon said, "We all hear rumors about various products like maca. But using this Peruvian root myself, I personally experienced a significant improvement in erectile tissue response. I call it 'nature's answer to Viagra?".
"What I see in maca is a means of normalizing our steroid hormones like testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen. Therefore it has facility to forestall the hormonal changes of aging," Dr. Gordon believes. "It acts on men to restore them to a healthy functional status in which they experience a more active libido. Lots of men and women who previously believed their sexual problems were psychological are now clearly going to look for something physiological to improve quality of life in the area of sexuality," says Dr. Gordon. "Of course, as someone interested in longevity, I'm aware that mortality comes on much sooner for those individuals whose sexual activity is diminished or nonexistent. In other words, I believe that people who engage in sex twice a week or more live longer. I've found sexual activity to be a reliable marker for overall aging."

Article: (Physician's Note) (Source: Dr. Gabriel Cousens, MD)
Maca provides an answer to the effects of aging on the endocrine system
American Physician Gabriel Cousens, MD, believes this herb has the potential of a balanced answer to the effects of aging on the endocrine system. Many who have tried phytoestrogens and/or precursor hormones such as DHEA or pregnenolone, or even natural hormone replacement therapy and have been dissatisfied, are getting excellent results from their use of maca root. Gabriel Cousens, MD, practicing internal medicine in Patagonia, Arizona, says, "Whenever possible, I prefer to use maca therapy rather than hormone replacement therapy because HRT actually ages the body diminishing the hormone producing capability of the glands. Maca has proven to be very effective with menopausal patients in eliminating hot flashes and depression and in increasing energy levels. They find the right dosage level, sometimes I have started the patient on maca treatment with a half a teaspoon of powder or three capsules a day. In some cases I have raised the dosage to a teaspoon or six capsules a day for full effectiveness."

Article: (Physician's Note and Testimonial) (Source: Dr. Henry Campanile, MD)
Doctor offers Maca as an Adrenal balancing root
Henry Campanile, M.D., offers Adrenal balancing Maca root to his patients. In keeping with its mode of acting through the hypothalamus and pituitary, Maca has a balancing and nourishing effect on the adrenal glands. Henry Campanile, MD, a 50-year old specialist in internal and family/complementary medicine practicing in St. Petersburg, Florida, relates: "I happen to have been born with one adrenal gland just like my father. I started taking cortisone in my late twenties to relieve the fatigue which I was already feeling. Knowing the dangers of long term cortisone use, I looked around for an alternative, and this circumstance is what got me interested in complementary medicine. I started using pregnenelone about 10 years ago and it has been fairly satisfactory. But one of my patients told me about Maca, and I started taking it about a month ago. It is phenomenal! I haven't felt this good since I was 20 years old. I have so much energy and look so well, my patients have remarked on it and told me how rested I seem. I've got so much energy now have started an exercise program."
After trying it out on himself, Dr.Campanile began using maca with his patients. "My first patient to take the maca capsules was experiencing hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. She started feeling much better after using this herb for only four days. I'm also employing it with patients who have low adrenal function.

"Article: (Physician's Note) (Source: Dr. Jorge A Calderon, MD)
Peruvian pioneer prescribes Maca
Another Peruvian pioneer in the therapeutic application of maca integrated into a modern medical practice is Jorge Aguila Calderon, MD. An intemist, Dr.Aguila Calderon is former Chief of the Department of Biological Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Human Medicine at the National University of Federico Villarreal in Lima. Like Dr. Malaspina and others, (See notes on other science pages), he prescribes maca for a wide variety of conditions including osteoporosis and the healing of bone fractures in the very elderly. "Maca has a lot of easily absorbable calcium in it, plus magnesium, and a fair amount of allies which we are finding very useful in treating the decalcification of bones in children and adults." Along with prescribing an excellent diet and certain lifestyle changes, Dr. Aguila Calderon has helped patients with male impotence, male sterility, and female sterility by employing maca therapy. Additional problems he treats with maca are rickets, various forms of anemia, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, climacteric and erectile difficulties in men, premature aging, and general states of weakness such as chronic fatigue.

Article: (Physician's Note) (Source: Dr. Harold Clark, MD)
Harold Clark, MD, makes Maca a key remedy
Another American doctor who has recently began to use maca therapeutically for some patients is from New Rochelle, New York. Dr. Clark, who utilizes chelation therapy and ozone therapy in addition to herbs, vitamins and minerals in his practice stated, "I'm amazed at how fast maca worked on two patients that I have been concerned about for some time."

He described one patient as 55 year-old Mary T, a postmenopausal, woman. Mary T was possessed of numerous health problems, including somewhat elevated blood sugar, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and hypomagnesemia. She had been acutely ill for two months with osteomyelitis and generalized sepsis. Unable to work, she was suffering from great fatigue and depression and feeling 'worse and worse' over the last five years. "Within just four days of taking the maca capsules, Mary T went through an enormous turnaround," said Dr. Clark. "She has gone out to shop in the stores; she's cleaning her house; she feels strong and vigorous; and her depression is gone."

Article: ( Source: Institute of Nutrition, Lima- Peru, 1979)
The Nutritional Value of Maca Proteins
The Nutritional Value of Maca Proteins, as polypeptides, make up 11% of the dry maca root and 14% of the whole maca paste. Calcium makes up 10% of maca's mineral count. Magnesium and potassium are also present in significant amounts. Other maca minerals include iron, silica, and traces of iodine, manganese zinc, copper, and sodium. Starch, a hexosane polysaccharide in maca, contains the triple minerals calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Vitamins found in maca comprise thiamin, riboflavin and ascorbic acid. Carbohydrates, coming from maca's cellulose and lignin, are polyholosides. Amino acid proteins in maca include aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, histidine, glycine, threonine, cystine, alanine, arginine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, valine, methionine, lysine, tryptophan, proline, hoproline, and sarcosine.

Maca at a glance

What it is:
Maca is a dehydrated, cruciferous root vegetable, and not a drug, so it is imported without any problems. It is a benign, medicinal food which has been in use for 10,000 years, possibly more, and has had ample time to be judged effective. It is also easily affordable.

What's in it: Proteins, as polypeptides, make up 11% of the dry maca root; calcium makes up 10% and magnesium and potassium are present in significant amounts. Other minerals include iron, silica, and traces of iodine, manganese zinc, copper, and sodium. Vitamins in maca are thiamin, riboflavin and ascorbic acid. The amino acid proteins in maca include aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, histidine, glycine, threonine, cystine, alanine, arginine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, valine, methionine, lysine, tryptophan, proline, hoproline, and sarcosine.

Benefits: According to doctors in Peru and the US, maca may be of benefit for: Menopausal symptoms: Hot flashes, tender breasts, sleeplessness and emotional upsets, "brain fog", and vaginal dryness. Osteoporosis: Significant bone rebuilding, improvement in bone density. Energy booster: Balances the endocrine system - thyroid, pituitary and adrenal glands. Male impotence, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Period problems: Pain, PMS, flooding and/or scant flow.