Maca as an antioxidant: Several studies have shown that maca has antioxidant power, helping to neutralize free radicals (which cause, among other things, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes) present in the blood. (Zhaa et al., 2014; Yao et al., 2012).
Maca and fertility: One of the greatest attributes made to maca is that it improves fertility. Studies have shown that this food contains compounds with functions similar to those of testosterone on biological activities (Eddouks et al., 2005; Gonzales et al., 2002). In 2001, the first report was obtained that showed the benefit of maca in improving spermatogenesis in male rats. Other subsequent studies indicate similar results, but despite the fact that there is data that relates sexual desire, fertility and spermatogenesis with the consumption of maca, there is not enough scientific evidence.
Maca and sexual desire: In recent years, several researchers have become interested in the benefits of foods for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, which is the inability to maintain an erection firm enough to achieve satisfactory sexual intercourse. A study (Gonzales et al., 2002) was conducted on 56 healthy men (21-56 years of age) in which they subjectively self-evaluated themselves for 12 weeks with a maca treatment; subsequently, the result showed an increase in sexual desire of up to 42.2%, which was significantly different from the experiment applied with placebo. This was confirmed by another study (Kamohara et al. 2014) as they reached the same result when experimenting with 14 men. Maca and menopause: Since ancient times, maca has been used to counteract anemia, infertility problems and hormonal imbalance in the female body (Hudson, 2008; Lee et al., 2011). However, to date it has not been possible to conclude that it has benefits during menopause, since previous studies with positive results are not reliable, as the type of maca used is unknown, as is the dose that would be needed to confirm that maca helps to counteract the symptoms of menopause (Lee et al., 2011).
Maca as an energiser: a study was conducted on 8 experienced and trained male cyclists for two weeks, who were given a supplement of 2,000 mg/day of maca extract. The aim was to investigate the effect of this supplement on endurance performance and sexual desire, which was demonstrated (Spector et al., 1996; Stone et al., 2009).
