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South America
Peruvian maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a botanical with an exclusive habitat located at 4,000 to 4,500 meters above sea level in the central Andes. An integral part of the culture of the Andes, the inhabitants of the region prize the herb’s root so highly as a therapeutic agent that they at one time restricted its use to royalty.
Although maca has been used as a hormone balancer, energy booster,
Depression fighter and performance enhancer, its most popular traditional use is for improvement of sexual function. Clinical research has verified the herb increases libido,17 elevates sperm count and improves sperm motility.18 Maca has also been shown to elevate and alleviate erectile dysfunction due to its ability to improve penile endothelial L-arginine-nitric oxide activity.19
“Maca diminishes symptoms of sexual dysfunction by regulating the endocrine system,” said Zach Adelman, president of Novato, Calif.- based Navitas Naturals, which supplies maca as bulk powder and vegetarian capsules. “It does this by regulating the endocrine system and specifically the thyroid and pituitary glands.”
A number of studies have indicated maca improves sexual performance. In a rat study from the University of Modena and Reggic nell’Emilia, Italy, subcutaneous administration of various fractions of maca in sexually inexperienced male rats variously improved sexual performance parameters in the animals.20 Another study conducted by researchers at South Hackensack, N.J.-based PureWorld Botanicals examined the effect of oral administration of purified lipidic extracts of maca (as MacaPure M-01 and 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.21
The animals were randomly divided into several experimental and control groups and orally administered a 10 percent ethanol suspension of the maca extracts for 22 days. Based upon the results, the researchers concluded the two maca extracts enhanced the sexual function of the mice and rats, as evidenced by an increase in the number of complete intromissions, the number of sperm-positive females in normal mice and a decrease in the LPE in male rats with erectile dysfunction. It was also noted that the study revealed for the first time an “aphrodisiac activity” of maca, for which PureWorld holds U.S. Patent No. 6,267,995.