Recently, a large commercial emphasis has been given to red maca supplements.
We begin by specifying that - although the species of origin is always the same ( Lepidium meyenii ) - there is a great variability regarding the size and shape of the root, which can be triangular, flattened, spherical or rectangular. Even its color can vary from white to black, passing through light yellow, red, purple, blue, green and several other shades.
The most used and known variety is the one with cream-colored roots.
In recent years we have tried to characterize the different varieties of maca to evaluate their content in active ingredients of pharmacological interest. Some interest has been raised towards red maca and other dark varieties, which have proved to be rich in iodine and therefore potentially able to prevent the development of goiter related to the consumption of clear roots (poorer in iodine and richer of glucosinolates gozzigens).
In a study on mice, moreover, red maca has been shown to reduce the size of the prostate of treated animals, while in the same study similar treatments with clear or black maca roots did not produce any reduction in prostate volume.
In another study on rats, the black maca roots increased sperm count and motility, while in this regard the red and yellow maca proved ineffective. However, once again the red maca proved to be able to reduce prostate volume.
Further studies are of course necessary to better characterize the efficacy of different varieties of maca in humans. Although significant clinical evidence exists regarding the maca's ability to increase fertility in humans, these are still considered insufficient by the scientific community.
