Does maca improve libido or energy? What trials and labels show

Maybe, for sexual desire, but the evidence is thin, and for energy it is thinner. A 2010 systematic review found only four randomized trials of maca for sexual function and called the evidence limited. The best-known trial used 1,500 or 3,000 mg a day of gelatinized maca for 12 weeks. Many supplement labels list only a small fraction of that, or no amount at all.

Here is what the maca trials used, what they found, where the research is weak, and what maca amounts look like on labels in our database. This is not medical advice, and nothing here says maca treats any condition.

Does maca improve libido?

The main evidence is a 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in men aged 21 to 56, published in Andrologia in 2002. Men took gelatinized maca at 1,500 mg or 3,000 mg a day, or a placebo. Self-reported sexual desire improved with maca from week 8. Serum testosterone and estradiol did not differ from placebo, and the authors found the effect on desire was not explained by changes in mood scores or hormones.

A more recent trial in the World Journal of Men's Health (2023) tested gelatinized maca in 80 men with symptoms of late-onset hypogonadism whose testosterone was in the normal range: 41 took maca and 39 took placebo for 12 weeks. Scores on the Aging Males' Symptoms scale, the erectile function questionnaire and the prostate symptom score improved more with maca than with placebo. These are questionnaires, filled in by the men themselves.

The 2010 systematic review in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine pooled what existed then: four randomized trials. Two suggested a positive effect on desire or sexual dysfunction, one in cyclists found no effect, and one in men with erectile dysfunction showed significant effects. The authors said the evidence was limited because there were so few trials, with small samples and uneven quality.

Does maca boost energy?

Here the research is mixed. A 12-week randomized trial in Pharmaceuticals (2016) gave 175 adults 3 g a day of a spray-dried extract of black maca, red maca or placebo, at low and high altitude. Participants on maca reported better mood, energy and health status, and a lower chronic mountain sickness score, with red maca doing better on mood, energy and mountain sickness. All of those are self-reported scales, and the product was an extract of specific maca colors, not a general powder.

In contrast, a 2025 crossover trial of ten well-trained basketball players gave 2,000 mg a day of maca or a placebo for two weeks. It found no significant differences in jump height, shooting accuracy, repeated sprints, fatigue index or blood lactate clearance. It was a very small study of athletes, so it does not settle the question for other groups, but it does not support "maca boosts performance" as a general rule.

What dose and what form do the trials use?

The forms differ between trials, which is the main reason a label is hard to compare:

• 2002 trial: gelatinized maca, 1,500 mg or 3,000 mg a day, 12 weeks.
• 2023 trial: gelatinized maca, taken as pills three times a day, 12 weeks.
• 2016 trial: 3 g a day of spray-dried black or red maca extract, 12 weeks.
• 2025 trial: 2,000 mg a day of maca, 2 weeks, no benefit seen.

Our reviews of men's health products, which check each label against the studies a page cites, find the same pattern: libido and mood studies commonly use 1.5 to 3 g of maca a day. "Gelatinized" refers to a processed powder form. None of the papers we read compared gelatinized maca head to head with raw maca, so these papers cannot tell you which form is better. What they do show is that doses are in grams, which matters when you look at a gummy or a dropper bottle.

What do maca amounts look like on labels?

Here is how maca appears in offers we reviewed, using what each review recorded:

• Alpha Surge is a gummy with a full label, and it lists 100 mg of maca root extract per gummy. Our review says that is a small fraction of the 1,500 to 3,000 mg a day used in libido and mood studies.
• Man Greens, a powder, lists 1.5 g of maca, which is in the lower part of the trial range.
• Pineal 10X is a liquid with maca root powder and no stated amount. Our review notes that studied doses are measured in grams, a lot for a one-dropper dose.
• Gut Go lists maca among four ingredients with no individual amount. Its cited maca study was an observational study of 50 people measuring a general inflammatory marker, not digestion.
• KeySlim Drops folds maca into a long proprietary blend with no amounts and no stated serving size.
• VivaSlim lists maca with no amount; our review points out that maca is mostly studied for mood and libido, not for the glucose and lipid claims on its page.

A label with a full set of numbers lets you do the arithmetic, and one with hidden amounts does not. For how we weigh that, see how we review.

Is maca safe, and is it pure?

Maca is a root that has long been eaten as food in the Andes, but a few cautions are worth knowing before you take it daily as a concentrated product. Trials are short, mostly 2 to 12 weeks, so they say little about long-term daily use. A 2018 case report in the Journal of Medical Toxicology described a woman whose blood lead level rose after she began taking a maca root powder and fell again when she stopped, and the authors noted that maca powder may contain lead and other minerals. It is one case, not a measure of how common the problem is. It does show why a lab report for the batch is worth asking for with any imported root powder.

Ask a doctor or pharmacist before using maca if you take prescription medicine, are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a hormone-related condition, or are being checked for low testosterone or fertility problems. Symptoms like low desire or low energy can have many causes, and a supplement should not delay finding out which one. You can browse our men's health reviews for more offers and how their labels compare.

A short checklist for reading a maca label

1. Find the amount of maca per serving and the number of servings a day. Convert to grams.
2. Look at the form: gelatinized powder, raw powder, or extract. The trials used different forms.
3. If maca is inside a blend, remember that its share of the total weight may be small.
4. Check the study the page cites. Does it measure libido or energy, or something unrelated, like a lab marker?
5. Ask for a lab report if the product is an imported root powder.
6. Note the refund terms. Our ClickBank refund guide explains the steps.

FAQ

How much maca should you take for libido?

We cannot give a personal dose. The main trial gave men 1,500 or 3,000 mg a day of gelatinized maca for 12 weeks, and doses on labels vary a lot. If you are considering maca, ask a doctor or pharmacist what suits you.

How long does maca take to work?

In the 2002 trial, men first reported a difference in sexual desire at 8 weeks, and the trial ran 12 weeks. Studies lasting two weeks, such as the basketball trial, found no benefit on performance.

Is gelatinized maca better than raw maca?

The papers we read do not compare them directly, so we cannot say. The two main men's trials used gelatinized maca, so that is the form with the clearest human data for libido.

Does maca raise testosterone?

In the 2002 trial, serum testosterone and estradiol did not differ between the maca and placebo groups. The reported effect on desire was independent of hormone levels in that study.