The Use of Maca (Lepidium meyenii) for Health Care: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

Maca, an Andean plant, has been used for enhancing fertility and female hormone balance. The aim of this overview was to investigate the current clinical evidence of efficacy of maca by evaluating the systematic reviews (SRs). Electronic databases searches were performed to select all SRs of maca for any type of conditions without restrictions of publication languages. Data were independently extracted, and the quality of all SRs was investigated by two authors. Three SRs were met by our inclusion criteria. Most of the SRs have high methodological quality, but the included primary studies have poor or moderate methodological quality. The targeted symptoms or conditions were menopausal symptoms, sexual function, and semen quality, and the conclusions had limited or suggestive evidence. Overall, few SRs of maca have been published. Due to a number of limitations, the evidence is limited that maca is a beneficial treatment for menopause and sexual-related conditions.