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Does Lepidium meyenii (Maca) improve seminal quality?
Author(s) -
Alcalde Ana María,
Rabasa Jordi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
andrologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1439-0272
pISSN - 0303-4569
DOI - 10.1111/and.13755
Subject(s) - asthenozoospermia , placebo , semen , sperm , medicine , semen quality , sperm motility , significant difference , male infertility , semen analysis , sperm quality , infertility , biology , andrology , pregnancy , genetics , alternative medicine , pathology
Abstract Maca ( Lepidium meyenii ) is a herbaceous plant grown at over 4,000 m in Peru. It has been studied worldwide for its properties on fertility. Previous studies have assessed maca effects on semen quality, but there is need of randomised, double‐blind trials in order to make clinical decisions. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of maca on seminal parameters in infertile adult men. This is a double‐blind, randomised, placebo‐controlled pilot trial in which sixty‐nine patients diagnosed with mild asthenozoospermia and/or mild oligozoospermia were supplied by maca ( n  = 35) or placebo ( n  = 34) (2 g/day) for a period of 12 weeks. When compared patients treated with maca and patients treated with placebo, there were no significant differences in semen volume (2.95 ± 0.52 vs. 2.90 ± 0.52; p  = .392), sperm motility (22.34 ± 2.22 vs. 23.05 ± 2.22; p  = .462) and normal sperm morphology (7.89 ± 1.89 vs. 7.04 ± 2.28; p  = .801), but there was a significant difference in sperm concentration (15.04 ± 5.61 vs. 10.16 ± 3.59, respectively; p  = .011). In conclusion, patients treated with 2 g of maca for a period of 12 weeks showed a significant improvement in seminal concentration compared with patients treated with placebo. There were no significant differences in semen volume, sperm mobility and morphology when compared both groups.

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