Compound or practice · Supplement
Maca
A Peruvian root that improves libido without moving hormones — real for desire, not a testosterone booster.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade C · 1 at grade D — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Sexual desireEvidence grade C
Non-hormonal
Moderatemixed
- TestosteroneEvidence grade D
No change
Trivialhigh
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Sexual desire (grade C); Testosterone (grade D).
The evidence in words
What it is
Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is an Andean tuber used for energy, fertility, and libido.
How it works
Notably, maca improves libido and some sexual-function measures without changing testosterone or other sex hormones — its mechanism is non-hormonal and not fully understood.
What the evidence shows
Small trials support improved sexual desire in men and women (including some antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction) and possibly sperm parameters, with no reliable hormonal change. Energy and mood claims are weaker. Safe and food-derived.
How to use it
1.5–3 g/day of powder or extract; gelatinized forms digest more easily.
Safety & interactions
Well tolerated as a food.
Bottom line
A genuine libido aid that works without touching your hormones. 1.5–3 g/day if desire is the goal; not a testosterone lever.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Standard
- 1.5–3 g/day.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Maca for Sexual desireEvidence grade C — Non-hormonalEvidence grade C
- Maca for TestosteroneEvidence grade D — No changeEvidence grade D
- Maca: dosage and how to take it1.5–3 g/day.Evidence grade C
- Maca: side effects, safety & interactionsWell tolerated as a food.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.