Best Maca Root Supplement

You may find yourself worrying about cognitive decline more than you used to. Maybe you're looking for an herbal remedy to stave off diabetes or beat back erectile dysfunction (ED). Perhaps you've just heard about a particular herbal remedy that tastes good. Whatever your reason, you've sought out maca supplements.

It's true that research supports maca root’s potential to aid in numerous issues, not just the ones we mentioned above but also things like osteoporosis and daily fatigue.1 So, how can you tell which maca root supplement will work best for a specific ailment?

We created this guide to demystify some of the more complicated aspects of maca root supplements and to divulge all the pros, cons, and details of the top brands so that you can decide on the one that fits your unique needs.

If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at our recommendations:

At Innerbody Research, we conduct hands-on testing with each product and service that we review, including the maca root supplements in this guide. Our research phase involved the analysis of scholarly articles in scientific journals dedicated to maca itself or to the various ailments maca proponents claim it can treat. All told, our team consumed more than 130 such articles, spending a collective 200 hours on the topics.

We also ordered the maca supplements in this guide for ourselves (as well as several that didn’t make the cut) so we could accurately report on things like taste, ease of use, and apparent efficacy and safety from within our team. Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this guide was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy and will continue to be monitored for updates by our editorial team.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions about staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

In setting out to evaluate maca root supplements, we compared the offerings from the top companies to the available scientific research to find products that delivered doses we could confirm were safe and effective. We also compared the costs of maca root supplements from the market’s top manufacturers, as well as a few smaller companies that fly under the radar but produce some of the best maca in the business.

To compare the products to one another, we consolidated all of our considerations into four criteria: effectiveness, safety, cost, and convenience. Let’s look closer at how our recommendations performed in each category:

Effectiveness

Advantage: The Maca Team Gelatinized Tri-Color

There’s ample evidence that the success of maca supplementation for the most common needs is related to compounds in maca known as macamides and macaenes. The presence of macamides and macaenes is determined by several factors, including the color of the maca in use (e.g., reg, black, yellow, etc.) and processing methods (e.g., air-drying versus oven-drying).2 3

• Maca color: Different maca colors have been found to contain different quantities of glucosinolates — precursors to macamides and macaenes.2 Yet maca research has often ignored maca color as an important factor in establishing safety and efficacy profiles.4 Head-to-head maca color studies for specific ends are not yet available.
• Maca origin: Location matters, as well. Maca is traditionally cultivated in a small area of Peru in the Andean Mountains. Specific aspects of this region’s climate, including its specific freeze-thaw cycle and ground nutrients, consistently create maca that outperforms varieties grown elsewhere.5
• Maca processing: Air-drying has proven superior to oven-drying at facilitating an increase in conversion from glucosinolates to macamides and macaenes. Then there’s gelatinization, during which maca is subjected to water, heat, and pressure, changing its structure slightly to increase its bioavailability and make it easier to digest.4 While this process does reduce some enzyme content and cook off maca’s natural vitamin C, it does not impact macamide or macaene content.

All of this led us to conclude that a blend of colors would offer the widest-reaching potential benefits by removing the potential for one color to outperform another. It also led us to seek out a product that was grown and processed in Peru, air-dried, and gelatinized. The Maca Team’s Tri-Color Maca checks all of these boxes.

A close runner-up among the complex formulas we tested would have to be Testosterone Support by Innerbody Labs, especially for men interested in maca for erectile or testosterone concerns. It contains a potent 10:1 maca extract delivering an equivalent of 3g maca powder, as well as ten other ingredients associated with male sexual wellness and testosterone enhancement, all dosed at levels consistent with successful research.

Safety

Winner: The Maca Team Gelatinized Tri-Color

In one of the most prominent studies on maca’s potential to help men with hypogonadism, participants received 6g/day of encapsulated maca powder for 12 weeks.6 Two out of 80 participants (2.5%) showed only gastrointestinal (GI) distress as a side effect, and both continued to participate in the study.

This study indicates that doses of maca powder reaching up to 6g/day should be safe for most people. And studies looking into maca’s other potential benefits typically use doses approaching 3g/day at the most.

So, if maca is generally pretty safe, what metrics did we apply to declare The Maca Team’s products to be the safest? Well, it was a close call between that company and Nootropics Depot, whose high macamide concentration resulted in a lower overall dose. Nootropics Depot also offers batch-specific certificates of analysis detailing third-party testing. The Maca Team offers similar certificates, but its testing is done internally, not by an independent third party.

That said, there isn’t any research into supplementation with a more highly concentrated maca extract like the one you can get from Nootropics Depot. While we can rely on our research team’s knowledge base to make assessments about how a lower overall dose can contribute to an increased safety profile, we wouldn't base a categorical victory on that without scientific support.

As a result, we looked at The Maca Team’s certificates of testing, as well as the fact that it offers gelatinized maca in powder and capsule form, and we saw serious potential to contend for our top safety pick. Then we considered the fact that The Maca Team’s products are verifiably Peruvian in origin, grown on organic co-operative farms. From that point, we couldn’t find a contender to compete with The Maca Team for safety.

Cost

Advantage: The Maca Team Gelatinized Tri-Color

With wins for safety and efficacy, it would be easy to assume The Maca Team’s products would be among the most expensive. But we’ve found the opposite to be true, especially when calculating the cost per gram of maca you receive. Here’s a quick comparison of the maca-only products in our guide:

Yes, The Maca Team’s sticker price is higher, but you get so much more maca for that price that it easily beats Organic Traditions on cost. And you don’t have to opt for The Maca Team’s largest bag to get a competitive price. Its Gelatinized Tri-Color Maca also comes in 1lb and 8oz quantities, the latter of which costs only $11.88, a $0.05 cost per gram of maca.

Convenience

Advantage: Nootropics Depot Maca Extract

Loose maca powders are undeniably less convenient than capsules. You have to measure out a specific amount, find something to mix it into, and hope that you end up with something that tastes good enough to drink every day. There’s the potential for mess and the loss of some product to spillage, as well.

The problem with capsules is that maca doses typically reach up to 3g/day, and sometimes more, while the average capsule might be able to squeeze in about 750mg of maca powder. In The Maca Team’s case, that results in a serving suggestion of 4-12 large capsules daily for its Tri-Color Maca. That’s a lot of big pills.

The answer for convenience seems to be extraction, which concentrates maca’s beneficial components by exposure to a solvent like water, ether, or petroleum ethanol. Nootropics Depot’s 5:1 extract standardizes the macamide content to 5% (five times the average 1% found in powdered maca). One of its 200mg capsules provides 10mg of macamides, compared to a much larger 750mg capsule from The Maca Team that only delivers 7.5mg of macamides. So, instead of 4-12 large capsules yielding 30-90mg of macamides, you can get the same dose from Nootropics Depot with just 3-9 much smaller capsules.

In Peru’s puna grasslands, above the treeline but below the permanent snowline of the Andean Mountains, centuries of adaptation and cultivation have resulted in a plant called Lepidium meyenii, or maca. Above ground, the plant resembles the green tops of carrots. Below ground, the roots better resemble a cross between a radish and a turnip, with a wide variety of sizes and colors.

Locally, maca has been used in traditional medicine to treat numerous ailments, purportedly enhancing libido and fertility, reducing pain and inflammation, and treating respiratory conditions.1 As scientific research has lent credence to some of these claims, maca has become a key component of the supplement industry, especially since additional research has indicated neuroprotective potential.

Maca’s popularity grew at such a rate that some Chinese manufacturers actually traveled to Peru, where they acquired plant and soil samples to bring back to China and attempt to re-create the maca grown in Peru.7 Results were poor, with Chinese maca offering far fewer active components compared to Peruvian maca. Chinese maca has flooded the market nonetheless, so diligence is required on the consumers’ part to ensure they get a high-quality product.

Research indicates that maca’s most important components are what scientists have come to call macamides and macaenes, unique classes of nonpolar, long-chain fatty acid N-benzylamides found only in maca root. Interestingly, though these components have been identified as the key drivers of maca’s health benefits, as one study puts it, “Little is known regarding their biosynthetic pathways and the mechanisms underlying the biological activities.”8 So, researchers aren’t completely sure how they work.

Another shortcoming in the research is that studies looking into one potential benefit or another often seem to choose their maca color at random, creating an environment in which it’s nearly impossible to compare colors for efficacy with regard to specific issues like fertility or energy. That’s why we recommend color blends, which circumvent the risk of getting you the “wrong” color maca for your needs and ensure a baseline of efficacy across all ends.

Without delving into unproven theories as to what potential mechanisms of action could be behind maca’s various purported benefits, let’s look directly at the effects seen in scientific research:

For the majority of potential maca users, the root should be perfectly safe to consume, though large quantities of powdered root have been shown to cause some GI distress in studies. This is particularly true of raw maca root powder, which is why we typically recommend a gelatinized powder (maca that has been subjected to a combination of moisture, heat, and pressure to make it more digestible and bioavailable).

All that said, there are some specific risks for certain people, including those with heart conditions. Namely, maca has been shown to reduce blood pressure. That’s a good thing for the 49% of Americans with hypertension,21 but if any of those folks are taking blood pressure medication, adding maca might bring their pressure too far down, creating a state of hypotension that can cause lightheadedness, fainting, and, in severe cases, death.22

Case studies have highlighted other possible dangers, though much more research is needed to confirm them. One case showed a manic episode, while another resulted in vaginal bleeding.23 24 Again, case reports like these are extremely rare examples of issues that can’t definitively be tied to maca consumption, but the correlation is still worth noting.

Whatever your interest in maca, it’s best to talk to your doctor before adding it to your regimen.

Maca supplements are best suited for people looking to support sexual wellness, fertility, energy, or overall well-being through gradual, consistent supplementation. Unlike stimulants or prescription medications, maca's benefits tend to develop over several weeks rather than occur immediately.10 11 13

More specifically, the following groups stand to benefit most:

Who may want to look elsewhere?

Maca has earned a reputation as a cure-all, but some of its marketing claims are much stronger than the evidence behind them. If one of the following describes your goals, you may want to consider another supplement — or at least adjust your expectations.

Best overall, best powder, and best maca coffee alternative

Unlike the other companies in this guide, The Maca Team produces maca products exclusively — no other supplements. The company’s product variety comes from offering raw and gelatinized versions of major maca colors and color blends in both capsule and powder forms. You can also get liquid maca extracts and a couple of specialty products containing maca.

Based on everything we’ve come to know about maca, we put a lot of stock in traditional cultivation methods, including growing location, land maintenance, and processing techniques. The Maca Team is one of the few companies we’ve found that focuses on these variables first and foremost.

It starts with the growing and land maintenance, which takes place in the Junin region of Peru, where maca was originally cultivated. The Maca Team uses only farming co-ops for its products, which helps ensure fair labor practices, and the farms cycle their land over the course of many years, allowing harvested soil to rest and reset before replanting. Once the maca is harvested, it air-dries in the traditional method, exposed to intense UV from natural sunshine and the region's unique freeze-thaw cycle.

All of this creates maca products that are as close to the original powders used in the region for centuries. And the scientific research we’ve seen backs up every one of those steps in creating superior maca.3

We specifically recommend The Maca Team’s Tri-Color Gelatinized Maca Powder, as it avoids the research gaps in comparing one color to another for certain needs, and it ensures that you’ll have a high quantity of each color at your disposal. Specifically, The Maca Team’s Tri-Color contains 40% yellow, 30% red, and 30% black maca.

Our testers also tried the Morning Motivator Blend, a coffee alternative intended to provide energy and focus without any caffeine. Instead, it contains our preferred Tri-Color maca mixed with raw cacao, raw coconut sugar, raw mezquite powder, and raw lucuma powder. The cacao and coconut sugar provide recognizable flavor and sweetness (there’s also an unsweetened version available), but the other two ingredients were new to us.

Lucuma powder, made from a fruit native to South America, supposedly has antioxidant benefits, though we haven’t found much research to support the claim.25 And the mezquite powder provides a little nuttiness to the mix, as well as a little protein.

The team agreed that Morning Motivator had a pleasant taste, especially when mixed into non-dairy milk or smoothies. It’s a light flavor, so you can afford to add a lot if you like, and none of our testers experienced any side effects such as jitteriness (as from caffeine) or the GI issues associated with some maca products.

If there’s one complaint about the Morning Motivator Blend, it’s the same complaint we have about most maca powders: it doesn’t mix well. Shaker cups were sufficient to break up any clumps and leave only a small amount of sediment at the bottom of the glass, but our team had the best results with high-powered blenders.

Pricing and returns with The Maca Team

Pricing from The Maca Team is excellent, especially considering the lengths the company goes to in securing traditionally cultivated maca from a specific region of Peru. Our preferred product, the Tri-Color Gelatinized Maca Powder, is available in three sizes, with a better price per gram of maca as you go up in size. Here’s how it works out:

The Morning Motivator Blend is available in sweetened and unsweetened varieties for the same price, with only one size offered: a 16oz bag for $24.78.

Your order ships free if you spend more than $99, which is a high threshold for most maca products, especially well-priced ones like this company offers. Shipping is calculated by package weight and customer location. As an example, one of our orders contained an 8oz bag of Tri-Color and a 16oz bag of Morning Motivator, and it cost $8.31 to ship it to the NYC region. By comparison, both Innerbody Labs and Nootropics Depot offer free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

The Maca Team does not offer a money-back guarantee, but you can return unopened products for up to 45 days. That’s longer than the 30-day setup from Innerbody Labs, but Innerbody Labs actually lets you try the product for that whole month, with the option to return opened products for a refund. Natgrown goes even further, offering a full 60-day money-back guarantee.

Best single-ingredient capsule

Taking maca in capsule form is one way that people can avoid potential GI upset, as large powder doses can cause some discomfort. Encapsulation helps deliver more maca to sites of absorption without subjecting as much of the GI tract to exposure. But the big problem with encapsulated maca powder is that it requires you to take large numbers of big capsules to get a requisite dose. Encapsulated maca extracts are superior in this regard, but they’re less common than encapsulated powders.

Nootropics Depot, a purveyor of various cognitive health-related ingredients, offers its maca in a standardized extract capable of delivering about five times the macamides you can expect from maca powder on its own. That 5% concentration delivers 10mg of macamides in every 200mg capsule. By comparison, maca powder capsules from The Maca Team contain 750mg of maca powder each while delivering around 7.5mg of macamides.

Interestingly, that 5% concentration indicates a 5:1 extract (approximately), delivering an equivalent of 1g maca powder in every capsule. We’re aware of more potent maca extracts, including the 10:1 extract used in Innerbody Labs Testosterone Support’s 300mg dose (3g powder equivalent). Of course, Innerbody Labs' maca is part of a more complex blend, so it’s not directly comparable. Further complicating things is that there aren’t any clearly trustworthy 10:1 extracts on the market sold on their own, at least not at this time.

Nootropics Depot pricing

The biggest hurdle with Nootropics Depot Maca Extract is the pricing. It’s the most expensive maca by gram in our guide, with a modest discount if you opt for the 180-count bottle over the 60-count bottle, and no opportunity for a subscription discount. Here’s how the pricing looks:

As we illustrated in our cost section toward the top of the piece, these prices are a little easier to stomach when you account for the increased concentration of macamides, yet still Nootropics Depot Maca Extract remains the most expensive product in this guide even with that difference taken into account. Ultimately, then, Nootropics Depot is best suited for people who want to take a capsule in the hopes of avoiding GI upset while also needing a smaller capsule or fewer capsules than would be necessary with an encapsulated raw or gelatinized powder.

Nootropics Depot has a lower free-shipping threshold than The Maca Team, but it has a higher shipping cost of $10 if you fail to meet it. Its 60-count bottle costs less than the $50 threshold, but the 180-count bottle crosses it, unlocking free shipping.

Like The Maca Team, Nootropics Depot doesn’t offer refunds on opened products, so you don’t get the kind of 30- or 60-day protection you get from Innerbody Labs or Natgrown, respectively.

Best for sensitive stomachs

Garden of Life Fair Trade Maca Root was previously our pick for sensitive stomachs, but the product is being discontinued. Organic Traditions Maca with Probiotics is the closest replacement we’ve found, and in some ways, we think it's an even better fit for this category.

Like Garden of Life, Organic Traditions uses gelatinized maca, which has been heat-processed to make it easier to digest. That's important because maca is typically taken in gram-level doses, and many people find gelatinized maca gentler on the stomach than raw maca. Organic Traditions also includes the shelf-stable probiotic strain Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 at 1 billion CFU per serving.28 The company confirmed to us that this probiotic count is intended to remain through the product's shelf life when stored properly.

The probiotic is another reason this product caught our attention. Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 has been studied in people with digestive complaints, including functional gas, bloating, and diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).27 Most studies used about 2 billion CFU per day, so Organic Traditions provides a smaller amount. Still, we'd rather see a named, clinically studied strain than a proprietary blend that doesn't tell you exactly what you're getting.

Organic Traditions offers two versions that differ only in their maca blend:

• Maca for Men with Probiotics: 2:1 black maca to red/purple maca
• MMaca for Women with Probiotics: 2:1 red/purple maca to black maca

There’s some rationale behind the different formulations, but it shouldn't be overstated. Black maca has shown the strongest color-specific evidence for sperm production in animal studies, which likely explains why it makes up a larger proportion of the men's formula.26 Beyond that, however, the evidence becomes much less clear. No human studies have shown that a black-heavy blend is better for men or that a red-heavy blend is better for women.

That's one reason we still prefer The Maca Team's Tri-Color Gelatinized Maca as our overall pick. Researchers haven't determined which maca color is best for which outcome, so a blend of red, black, and yellow maca offers the broadest approach. Organic Traditions leaves out yellow maca, which we see as a drawback compared to tri-color formulas. Still, if digestive comfort is your top priority, it's one of the few maca supplements that pairs gelatinized maca with a clinically studied probiotic strain.

Of course, formulation is only part of the equation. Our testing team wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about the taste. Compared to the other maca powders we tried, Organic Traditions was one of the most bitter, lacking the subtle nutty flavor that makes some maca products surprisingly enjoyable. Fortunately, it performed much better when it came to mixing. Even with nothing more than moderate stirring using a fork, we saw very little clumping, making it easy to blend into smoothies, yogurt, or other foods where the stronger flavor is less noticeable.

Pricing

Both Organic Traditions Maca with Probiotics products cost $13 for a one-time purchase or $10.40 with a subscription. Subscriptions are flexible, with delivery every 30, 60, or 90 days.

• One-time price: $13.00
• Subscription price (20% off): $10.40
• Servings per container: 50
• Cost per serving (one-time): $0.26
• Cost per serving (subscription): $0.21

The pricing is very reasonable, especially if you subscribe, but shipping is the biggest downside. Organic Traditions charges $10 shipping on orders under $50, so buying a single bag directly from the company significantly increases the overall cost. Fortunately, the products are also available through iHerb, where shipping is only $5, or free on orders of $25 or more. If you're already stocking up on supplements, iHerb may be the more economical place to buy.

Also, Organic Traditions' refund policy is less reassuring than those of some competitors, such as Natgrown's 60-day money-back guarantee. The company states that customers should contact support if a product is defective, tampered with, or doesn't meet its standards, but it doesn't clearly explain whether opened products are eligible for a refund. While the policy is vague, the relatively low purchase price helps reduce the risk.

Best testosterone booster with maca

Innerbody Labs created Testosterone Support to fill a gap the company perceived in the market after years spent writing about its alternatives. The idea was to create a supplement that didn't underdose on any of its components but instead provided doses at levels supported by clinical research.

Here’s a look at Testosterone Support’s full ingredient list:

• Ashwagandha: 600mg KSM-66
• Fenugreek: 600mg
• Maca: 3,000mg
• Longjack: 400mg
• Vitamin A: 750mcg
• Vitamin D: 1,000IU
• Vitamin K2: 75mcg
• Zinc: 25mg
• Copper: 300mcg
• Selenium: 20mcg
• Black pepper extract: 5mg

In most cases, these ingredients are included primarily for their testosterone-boosting potential, but some are there for safety or increased absorption. For example, the formula includes copper because zinc supplementation can induce copper deficiency,35 and black pepper extract can aid in nutrient absorption, leading to superior results.36

While Testosterone Support is predominantly a testosterone supplement, its creators also chose to include a potent maca extract to help alleviate the sexual symptoms many men with low testosterone may experience, including a lack of libido and erectile difficulties. And for men interested in maca for testosterone purposes, but who may come to find that maca’s testosterone-boosting potential isn't well-supported by research, having it combined with known testosterone boosters like ashwagandha and fenugreek could be a perfect solution.

The non-maca ingredients in Testosterone Support do more than just boost testosterone, as well. Ashwagandha has anti-anxiety effects and may improve erectile performance,29 30 fenugreek can help manage blood glucose and inflammation,31 32 and tongkat ali can improve fertility and fight anxiety.33 34

Pricing and shipping

Innerbody Labs offers both bulk and subscription discounts, which combine to deliver up to 40% off compared to a single one-time purchase. Here’s how it works out:

Shipping costs $6.50 for domestic orders under $50, with free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

You get a 30-day money-back guarantee with Innerbody Labs Testosterone Support, which is better than some but not as long as the guarantee from Natgrown. That said, with some research pointing toward maca efficacy in as little as 28 days, a 30-day guarantee may be enough for you to confirm efficacy.13

Best for male sexual performance

Natgrown has a relatively small catalog of products (14 at the time of this writing), four of which include maca:

• A straightforward encapsulated maca powder
• A blend of maca, ashwagandha, and fenugreek
• A black maca and ginseng formula
• A mix of maca and horny goat weed

Our choice from the group is the maca and horny goat weed formula. We’re aware that maca is often sought after by men interested in improving their performance in the bedroom, whether that be their libido or their physical erectile abilities. Maca studies have shown that the substance can help men with mild ED to regain erectile strength,11 so pairing it with another incredibly popular erectogenic herb like horny goat weed (Epimedium sagittatum) makes a lot of sense.43 The other three maca products from Natgrown are fine, but they don’t feel as targeted as this one does.

The maca extract in Natgrown’s Horny Goat Weed and Maca Root is a 10:1 extract dosed at 500mg. That provides the equivalent of a 5g powder dose, which is more than we’ve seen in numerous successful studies. That also delivers around 50mg of macamides per dose, which is at least five times what we’ve seen in most other maca supplements.

If we have a nit to pick, it’s that the horny goat weed dose is just a little low: 500mg of a 10% extract provides only 50mg of icariin, the active beneficial compound in horny goat weed. That’s well above the minimum that some studies suggest would help men with erectile difficulties, but it’s also well below the higher end of the range and below the average we see in competing products. Many competitors provide 1,000mg doses of a 10% or 20% extract.

The blend also includes 5mg of black pepper extract, which we discussed under the Innerbody Labs Testosterone Support section as a compound that may increase nutrient absorption from supplements, though its effects likely aren’t universal across all ingredients.

Pricing

For what it offers, Natgrown prices the supplement pretty fairly. You can buy one, three, or six bottles at a time for the following prices:

You might not want to spend $144 up front for half a year’s worth of this supplement, but if you try it and find that it works, it’s a nice way to save money in the long run. While Natgrown offers subscriptions for some of its other products, that option isn't currently available for Horny Goat Weed & Maca Root, making bulk purchases the only way to save. Fortunately, Natgrown offers the longest money-back guarantee in this guide at 60 days, giving you plenty of time to decide whether it's right for you.

While many maca shoppers are interested in male sexual performance, the substance’s other purported effects make comparing it to other supplements a little more complicated. Let’s touch on the major potential benefits of maca as they compare to potential alternatives: