Maca Root: What Does the Evidence Actually Show? (2026 Review)

Key Takeaways

Maca's strongest evidence is for sexual desire, from a small but well-designed trial. Sperm quality results are mixed: a 2022 meta-analysis of five RCTs could not confirm an effect on sperm concentration (Lee et al., 2022). Four RCTs on menopausal symptoms found positive results, but the sample sizes and methodological quality were too low for firm conclusions (Lee et al., 2011). Maca does not change serum testosterone, estradiol or other reproductive hormones in any published trial. Short-term use looks safe: 3 g a day for 12 weeks caused no serious adverse effects in a 175-person trial (Gonzales-Arimborgo et al., 2016).

What is maca root?

Maca is a cruciferous root vegetable (Brassica family, same as broccoli and cauliflower) that grows between 4,000 and 4,500 meters in the central Peruvian Andes (Rubio et al., 2007). The edible part is the hypocotyl, which comes in several colors: yellow, red and black, each with a somewhat different phytochemical profile (Ulloa del Carpio et al., 2024). It has been cultivated for at least 2,000 years and used both as food and in traditional medicine.

Maca is rich in fiber, essential amino acids and fatty acids, and supplies vitamin C, copper, iron and calcium (da Silva Leitão Peres et al., 2020). The bioactive compounds most studied are macamides, macaenes and glucosinolates (Ulloa del Carpio et al., 2024).

The global supplement market sells maca mostly as a powder or capsule. The two main forms are raw maca powder and gelatinized maca, which has been heated to break down starch, making it easier to digest and more concentrated. The libido trial by Gonzales used gelatinized maca, while other trials used extracts or root powder.

What nutrients does maca provide?

Maca is rich in fiber, essential amino acids and fatty acids, and it supplies vitamin C, copper, iron and calcium (da Silva Leitão Peres et al., 2020). Its distinctive compounds, macamides and macaenes, matter more than its everyday nutrients.

What sets maca apart from other root vegetables is its content of macamides and macaenes, the compounds most researchers think drive its biological effects. These are the molecules most researchers think drive the biological effects, because the standard nutrients in maca are available from many cheaper food sources. A 2024 pharmacological review describes how growing region, plant type and post-harvest processing shape the mix of macamides, macaenes and glucosinolates in a given product (Ulloa del Carpio et al., 2024).

Maca is also a source of dietary fiber and plant protein, which is part of why it has been eaten as a food in the Andes for centuries. At typical supplement doses of 1.5 to 3 g per day, the nutritional contribution is minimal.

Do different colors of maca do different things?

Yellow, red and black maca share the same core bioactive compounds but in different ratios. Black maca had more macamides in compositional analyses, while red maca had more GABA (Gonzales-Arimborgo et al., 2016). In the altitude trial, red maca produced slightly better mood outcomes. No head-to-head trial has compared colors for libido or fertility.

Yellow maca is the most widely sold variety. Black maca extracts reversed drug-induced memory impairment in mice (Rubio et al., 2007), though no human cognitive trial exists. The color distinction matters more for marketing than for proven human outcomes.

For the libido effect documented by Gonzales, gelatinized maca was the form tested (Gonzales et al., 2002).

Which maca benefits hold up in trials?

Sexual desire is the only area where results have been replicated across more than one controlled trial. Fertility, athletic performance and menopause claims rest on fewer or weaker studies. None of the evidence is strong enough for any health authority to have approved a health claim for maca.

We ranked each benefit by the strength of the evidence behind it. The order below reflects the number and rigor of controlled trials, not the size of the effect.

Sexual desire

This is maca's most replicated finding. Gonzales and colleagues ran a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in men aged 21 to 56. Those taking 1,500 or 3,000 mg of gelatinized maca daily reported increased sexual desire from week 8. The effect was independent of mood scores and serum testosterone, which did not change (Gonzales et al., 2002). A systematic review of four RCTs found limited but suggestive evidence that maca improves sexual function (Shin et al., 2010). A separate trial found that maca at 3 g per day reduced antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women, though the effect was modest and the sample was small (Dording et al., 2015).

Sperm quality

An early uncontrolled study in nine men found that four months of maca increased sperm count and motility without changing hormones (Gonzales et al., 2001). The problem is what came after. A 2022 meta-analysis pooled five RCTs and found that maca did not significantly increase sperm concentration compared with placebo. The authors noted mixed results and called the total sample size too small for firm conclusions (Lee et al., 2022). The claim that maca boosts male fertility is not proven.

Physical performance

A systematic review and meta-analysis published at the end of 2024 covered 21 studies and found large effect sizes for maca on endurance and strength tests, with a dose-response relationship (Huerta Ojeda et al., 2024). That sounds impressive, but the review pooled animal and human studies, and the human trials were few and small. The one cycling trial in trained men found that 14 days of maca improved 40 km time trial performance compared with baseline, but not compared with placebo (Stone et al., 2009). Newer work is less encouraging. A 2-week trial in well-trained basketball players found no effect on jumping, shooting accuracy, repeated sprints or fatigue (Wu et al., 2025), and a 2026 meta-analysis of animal studies found no consistent effect on blood markers of muscle damage (Rodríguez Rojas et al., 2026). Performance claims remain unproven.

Menopause symptoms

A systematic review of four RCTs found that all four reported improvements in menopausal symptom scores with maca (Lee et al., 2011). The reviewers still called the evidence limited, because trial sizes were small, methodological quality was mixed, and maca's long-term safety in this population had not been established.

Mood and energy

A 12-week trial in 175 adults at low and high altitude found that both red and black maca extracts (3 g per day) improved mood, energy and health-related quality of life scores compared with placebo (Gonzales-Arimborgo et al., 2016). Red maca performed slightly better for mood. These results have not been independently replicated.

Does maca increase testosterone?

No. A 2024 systematic review of 52 studies on proposed testosterone boosters found that maca did not raise total testosterone in any tested population (Morgado et al., 2024). The original Gonzales trial also confirmed that maca's effect on sexual desire was independent of testosterone levels (Gonzales et al., 2002). Whatever maca does, it is not working through androgens.

This matters because maca is often marketed alongside shilajit and ashwagandha as a testosterone booster. The same systematic review found that tongkat ali and ashwagandha had "possibly effective" evidence for testosterone in specific populations, while maca did not. If testosterone is your goal, maca is the wrong supplement.

Does maca affect hormones at all?

Not in a way that blood tests detect. Multiple trials measured serum testosterone, estradiol, LH, FSH and prolactin before and after maca supplementation. None found significant changes (Gonzales et al., 2002; Gonzales et al., 2001). The systematic review of testosterone boosters confirmed that maca does not raise total testosterone (Morgado et al., 2024).

This is actually what makes maca interesting. Its effect on sexual desire is independent of the hormonal pathways that most libido supplements claim to target. Whatever mechanism is responsible, it is not a change in circulating sex hormones.

For women, the hormone data are reassuring but incomplete. Trials in men found no change in estradiol or testosterone (Gonzales et al., 2002), and no trial has tested maca in people with hormone-sensitive conditions. The menopause trials were too small and too varied in quality for firm conclusions (Lee et al., 2011). If maca does ease menopausal symptoms, it does not appear to work by changing sex hormones, which also means it does not address the hormonal changes behind those symptoms.

Does maca work for men?

For libido, yes, with the caveat that the evidence comes from one well-designed 12-week trial in adult men (Gonzales et al., 2002). For sperm quality, the meta-analysis says maybe, but not proven (Lee et al., 2022). For erectile dysfunction specifically, a meta-analysis of herbal supplements found "very preliminary positive results" for maca based on a single trial with 50 patients (Borrelli et al., 2018).

Men looking for testosterone support should consider shilajit or ashwagandha instead, both of which have data for testosterone in specific populations (Morgado et al., 2024).

Maca for mild erectile dysfunction

The single trial behind maca's erectile-function signal gave 2,400 mg of dry maca extract or placebo to men with mild erectile dysfunction for 12 weeks. Both groups improved on the IIEF-5 erectile function score, but the maca group improved more, by 1.6 points versus 0.5 (Zenico et al., 2009). Maca also raised self-rated psychological performance more than placebo, and only the maca group improved on physical and social performance scores.

A 1.6-point change on a 25-point scale is small, and a 2018 meta-analysis of herbal supplements for erectile dysfunction classed the maca result as very preliminary, based on this one trial of 50 patients (Borrelli et al., 2018). Erectile problems can signal cardiovascular disease or diabetes, so they deserve a medical check before anyone reaches for a supplement.

Does maca work for women?

Some evidence exists for menopausal symptoms and antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction, but both come from small trials. All four menopause trials reviewed by Lee and colleagues reported improved symptom scores (Lee et al., 2011), and the Dording trial found modest improvement in sexual function in postmenopausal women taking SSRIs (Dording et al., 2015).

In the Gonzales trial, maca did not change serum estradiol (Gonzales et al., 2002). That is sometimes presented as a safety feature, but no trial has tested maca in hormone-sensitive conditions, and it also means maca does not address the hormonal changes that drive menopause symptoms. Whatever its mechanism, it has not been identified.

Two small crossover trials in postmenopausal women add direct data. Each was a randomized, double-blind crossover trial, so every woman took both maca and placebo for 6 weeks in turn. In 14 women, 3.5 g of maca a day for 6 weeks lowered psychological symptoms on the Greene Climacteric Scale, including the anxiety, depression and sexual dysfunction subscales, compared with both baseline and placebo. Estradiol, FSH, LH and SHBG did not change, and maca extracts showed no meaningful estrogenic or androgenic activity in lab assays (Brooks et al., 2008).

In 29 postmenopausal Hong Kong Chinese women, 3.3 g a day for 6 weeks also left hormones, lipids, glucose and inflammatory markers unchanged, while depression scores and diastolic blood pressure fell (Stojanovska et al., 2015). Both trials were short and small, but together they make the "no hormonal effect" finding more solid in women, not just in men.

Can maca help couples trying to conceive?

The libido data suggests it might help indirectly by increasing sexual desire, but the fertility evidence itself is inconclusive. The 2022 meta-analysis of five RCTs could not confirm that maca improves sperm concentration (Lee et al., 2022). No trial has measured pregnancy rates or time to conception.

The original uncontrolled study found increases in sperm count and motility (Gonzales et al., 2001), which fueled the fertility reputation. Controlled trials since then have produced mixed results. For men with documented fertility problems, maca should not replace evidence-based treatments. For couples without identified issues who want to cover their bases, the risk is low and the cost is modest, but the expectation should be set accordingly.

Women's fertility trials with maca do not exist in any meaningful form. The menopausal symptom trials enrolled women past reproductive age. There is no data on maca and ovulation, egg quality, or IVF outcomes.

Maca vs ashwagandha: which should you take?

They do different things. Maca's strongest point is sexual desire. Ashwagandha is studied mainly for stress and cortisol. There is no head-to-head trial, and our full maca and ashwagandha comparison covers the overlap in detail.

The combination is common in supplement stacks because the mechanisms do not compete. Maca does not appear to work through sex hormones (Gonzales et al., 2002). Ashwagandha acts on the HPA axis and may modestly increase testosterone in stressed men. Taking both covers stress-response and libido angles at once, though neither has been tested in combination with the other in a controlled trial.

How much maca should you take?

The Gonzales libido trial used 1,500 or 3,000 mg of gelatinized maca a day (Gonzales et al., 2002), and other trials used about 3 g a day of extract or root (Gonzales-Arimborgo et al., 2016; Dording et al., 2015). The Gonzales libido trial used these two doses and found no difference in effect between them (Gonzales et al., 2002). The altitude trial used 3 g per day of spray-dried extract (Gonzales-Arimborgo et al., 2016).

Raw maca powder is sold for smoothies and food, but it was not the form used in the libido trial. No trial has established an equivalent dose for raw powder, so the gelatinized doses above are the only tested reference point. Effects on sexual desire appeared at week 8 in the Gonzales trial, so give it at least two months before deciding it is not working.

What should you expect in the first 12 weeks?

Start with 1,500 mg of gelatinized maca per day, split into two doses with meals. If you tolerate it well after a week, you can increase to 3,000 mg. The Gonzales trial found no difference in sexual desire outcomes between these two doses (Gonzales et al., 2002).

Powder form versus capsules is a matter of preference. Gelatinized maca powder dissolves reasonably well in smoothies, oatmeal or coffee. It has a malty, slightly earthy taste. Raw maca powder has not been heat-treated the way gelatinized maca has. The Gonzales libido trial used gelatinized maca, so that form is closest to the tested product.

Give it time. In the Gonzales trial, effects on sexual desire appeared at week 8, not week 1 (Gonzales et al., 2002). This is consistent with how most adaptogenic roots work: they shift baseline function over weeks, not acutely. If nothing has changed after 12 weeks of daily use, maca is probably not going to help for your particular situation.

Maca stacks well with ashwagandha for a combined libido and stress approach, or with shilajit for a traditional male vitality stack. Neither combination has been tested in a controlled trial. Our maca vs ashwagandha comparison covers the overlap in detail.

Who should skip it entirely: pregnant or breastfeeding women (no safety data at all), anyone with a thyroid condition (glucosinolate content in cruciferous plants), and people on hormone-sensitive medications. If you are taking an SSRI and interested in the Dording trial results, discuss it with your prescriber first, since that trial was specifically designed with physician oversight (Dording et al., 2015).

How to choose a maca supplement

Pick gelatinized maca if you want to match the form used in the Gonzales libido trial. Check for a third-party certificate of analysis. Avoid products that combine maca with a long list of other ingredients at undisclosed doses, because you cannot tell what is doing what.

Color matters less than marketing suggests. The 2024 pharmacological review found that all colors share the same core compounds, with differences mainly in macamide ratios (Ulloa del Carpio et al., 2024). Black maca had more macamides in one analysis; red maca had more GABA. Neither color has consistently outperformed the other in human trials.

Origin is worth checking. The Beharry review flagged that maca grown outside the Andes, including at lower altitudes, may differ in phytochemistry (Beharry et al., 2018). Peruvian-origin maca is closer to what was tested in trials.

Quality testing matters more for maca than most people assume. A 2026 review of analytical studies describes how a product's mix of macamides, macaenes, glucosinolates and alkaloids varies with plant type, geographic origin and post-harvest processing, and identifies liquid chromatography as the main tool labs use to check identity and quality (Wasilewicz et al., 2026). A brand that can show chromatography-based testing for its maca is giving you more than one that simply lists "maca root" on the label.

Is maca safe? What are the side effects?

Maca appears safe at standard doses over 12 weeks. Neither the Gonzales trial nor the 175-person altitude study reported serious adverse effects (Gonzales-Arimborgo et al., 2016). A 2018 review noted that safety beyond 12 weeks has not been studied, and cautioned that mass production outside the Andes, including in China's Yunnan province, may produce a different phytochemical profile (Beharry et al., 2018).

In the 175-person altitude trial, both red and black maca were well accepted and caused no serious adverse effects (Gonzales-Arimborgo et al., 2016). Because maca belongs to the Brassica family, people with thyroid conditions should be cautious. Maca contains glucosinolates, the same class of compounds found in other cruciferous vegetables, though no trial has reported thyroid problems with maca at supplement doses.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid maca. There are no safety data in these populations.

Who should avoid maca?

Pregnant and breastfeeding women (no safety data), people with thyroid conditions (glucosinolate content), and anyone on hormone-sensitive medications should talk to a doctor first. The 2018 Beharry review noted that mass production outside the Andes, especially in China, may alter the plant's phytochemistry, creating additional safety uncertainty (Beharry et al., 2018).

One underappreciated risk is product quality. Rising demand moved some cultivation out of the Andes, which may change the plant's chemistry (Beharry et al., 2018). The Beharry review noted that the shift to mass cultivation with fertilisers and pesticides, including outside the Andes, could change the plant's phytochemistry and with it the quality and safety of maca products (Beharry et al., 2018). Buying from brands that source from Peruvian high-altitude farms and test for contaminants reduces this risk.

A disclosure: YourHealthier sells Ashwagandha Plus, which includes maca (150 mg) alongside KSM-66 ashwagandha and other ingredients. The trials in this article used 1,500 to 3,000 mg of maca a day as a single ingredient, so their results cannot be read as results for our product, and nothing here is a claim about it.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1. Gonzales GF, Córdova A, Vega K, et al. Effect of Lepidium meyenii (MACA) on sexual desire and its absent relationship with serum testosterone levels in adult healthy men. Andrologia. 2002;34(6):367-72.
2. Gonzales GF, Cordova A, Gonzales C, et al. Lepidium meyenii (Maca) improved semen parameters in adult men. Asian J Androl. 2001;3(4):301-3.
3. Lee HW, Lee MS, Qu F, et al. Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) on semen quality parameters: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:934740.
4. Shin BC, Lee MS, Yang EJ, et al. Maca (L. meyenii) for improving sexual function: a systematic review. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2010;10:44.
5. Dording CM, Schettler PJ, Dalton ED, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of maca root as treatment for antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction in women. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:949036.
6. Huerta Ojeda Á, Rodríguez Rojas J, Cancino-López J, et al. Effects of Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) on Physical Performance in Animals and Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2024;17(1).
7. Stone M, Ibarra A, Roller M, et al. A pilot investigation into the effect of maca supplementation on physical activity and sexual desire in sportsmen. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009;126(3):574-6.
8. Lee MS, Shin BC, Yang EJ, et al. Maca (Lepidium meyenii) for treatment of menopausal symptoms: A systematic review. Maturitas. 2011;70(3):227-33.
9. Gonzales-Arimborgo C, Yupanqui I, Montero E, et al. Acceptability, Safety, and Efficacy of Oral Administration of Extracts of Black or Red Maca (Lepidium meyenii) in Adult Human Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2016;9(3).
10. Morgado A, Tsampoukas G, Sokolakis I, et al. Do "testosterone boosters" really increase serum total testosterone? A systematic review. Int J Impot Res. 2024;36(4):348-364.
11. Borrelli F, Colalto C, Delfino DV, et al. Herbal Dietary Supplements for Erectile Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Drugs. 2018;78(6):643-673.
12. Ulloa Del Carpio N, Alvarado-Corella D, Quiñones-Laveriano DM, et al. Exploring the chemical and pharmacological variability of Lepidium meyenii: a comprehensive review of the effects of maca. Front Pharmacol. 2024;15:1360422.
13. da Silva Leitão Peres N , Cabrera Parra Bortoluzzi L , Medeiros Marques LL , et al. Medicinal effects of Peruvian maca (Lepidium meyenii): a review. Food Funct. 2020;11(1):83-92.
14. Beharry S, Heinrich M. Is the hype around the reproductive health claims of maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) justified?. J Ethnopharmacol. 2018;211:126-170.
15. Rubio J, Dang H, Gong M, et al. Aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of Black Maca (Lepidium meyenii) improve scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice. Food Chem Toxicol. 2007;45(10):1882-90.
16. Wu PS, Wu SH, Jiang RS, et al. The Impact of Lepidium meyenii (MACA) Supplementation on Basketball-related Performance and Antifatigue Ability: A Double-blind Crossover Study. J Physiol Investig. 2025;68(5):297-304.
17. Rodríguez Rojas J, Huerta Ojeda Á, Barahona-Fuentes G, et al. Lepidium Meyenii Walp. (Maca) and Blood Biomarkers of Muscle Damage and Post-Exertion Protein Degradation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical Studies. Nutrients. 2026;18(12).
18. Zenico T, Cicero AF, Valmorri L, et al. Subjective effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) extract on well-being and sexual performances in patients with mild erectile dysfunction: a randomised, double-blind clinical trial. Andrologia. 2009;41(2):95-9.
19. Wasilewicz A, Grienke U. Maca (Lepidium meyenii) as a Functional Food and Dietary Supplement: A Review on Analytical Studies. Foods. 2026;15(2).
20. Brooks NA, Wilcox G, Walker KZ, et al. Beneficial effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on psychological symptoms and measures of sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women are not related to estrogen or androgen content. Menopause. 2008;15(6):1157-62.
21. Stojanovska L, Law C, Lai B, et al. Maca reduces blood pressure and depression, in a pilot study in postmenopausal women. Climacteric. 2015;18(1):69-78.