Lepidium meyenii herb research

Lepidium meyenii, also known as maca, is a root-like vegetable shaped like a radish that grows high in the harsh climate of the Andes Mountains in South America at elevations up to 15,000 feet. For more than two millennia, native Peruvians have used Lepidium meyenii root as food and medicine, to promote endurance and improve energy, vitality, sexual virility and fertility. If you have an interest in increasing energy, an excellent supplement is MultiVit Rx which works better than Lepidium meyenii alone. Lepidium meyenii is found in Passion Rx, an herbal product used for female impotence and as a treatment of impotence in males. Lepidium meyenii is the botanical name for maca herb.

Lepidium meyenii as fertility herb
Effect of chronic treatment with three varieties of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on reproductive parameters and DNA quantification in adult male rats.
Andrologia. 2007 Aug;39(4):151-8. Gasco M, Aguilar J, Gonzales GF. Department of Biological and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the chronic effect of different varieties of Lepidium meyenii (Red Maca, Yellow Maca and Black Maca). Male rats were treated by gavage with aqueous extract of each variety of Lepidium meyenii for 84 days. At the end of the treatment, daily sperm production (DSP), epididymal sperm count (ESC) and sperm count in vas deferens (SCVD) were assessed. In addition, testis DNA quantification was also determined. Any toxic effect was assessed in liver and spleen by histological studies. The results indicate that Yellow Lepidium meyenii and Black Lepidium meyenii improved ESC and that three varieties of Lepidium meyenii increased the SCVD without affecting DSP. Moreover, testis DNA levels were not affected by treatment with any of the three varieties of Lepidium meyenii. Histological picture of the liver in animals treated with the three varieties of Lepidium meyenii was similar to that observed in controls. In conclusion, Yellow and Black Lepidium meyenii increased epididymal sperm count after 84 days of treatment without affecting DSP. Lepidium meyenii seems to act as a modulator of sperm count at the reproductive tract level.

Lepidium meyenii and hormone levels
Lepidium meyenii (Maca) does not exert direct androgenic activities.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Apr 6. Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Maca is the edible root of the Peruvian plant Lepidum meyenii, traditionally employed for its purported aphrodisiac and fertility-enhancing properties. This study aimed at testing the hypothesis that Lepidum meyenii contains testosterone-like compounds, able to bind the human androgen receptor and promote transcription pathways regulated by steroid hormone signaling. Lepidum meyenii extracts (obtained with different solvents: methanol, ethanol, hexane and chloroform) are not able to regulate GRE (glucocorticoid response element) activation.

Lepidium meyenii questions
Q. I take Sotalol 120mg BID, and would like to try Lepidium meyenii 300mg with 500mg goat weed for erectile dysfunction. My doctor approved Viagra 100mg which does not provide a solution.
   A. Sotalol is used to treat irregular heartbeats. Sotalol is in a class of medications called antiarrhythmics. It works by acting on the heart muscle to improve the heart's rhythm. If a person has heart rhythm problems, they should very very careful using sexual enhancing herbs such as horny goat weed or perhaps even high dosages of Lepidium meyenii since aphrodisiac herbs can sometimes stimulate the heart the beat faster and this may cause heart palpitations.

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