Maca root does not appear to increase testosterone levels in females. To date, no clinical study has shown that maca raises total serum testosterone in humans of either sex. The effects women notice from maca, particularly improved libido and energy, seem to happen through a different pathway that doesn’t involve boosting testosterone production.
What the Research Actually Shows
The most direct evidence comes from human studies measuring hormone levels before and after maca supplementation. A randomized, placebo-controlled study of 56 healthy male subjects found no changes in testosterone or gonadotrophin levels with maca use, and clinical trials in postmenopausal women similarly did not report testosterone increases. What those postmenopausal trials did find was a shift in other hormones: estradiol increased by roughly 135% over four months of maca use, while FSH (a hormone that rises after menopause) dropped by about 55%. Cortisol and ACTH, both stress-related hormones, also decreased significantly.
So maca does interact with the hormonal system. It just doesn’t appear to do so by raising testosterone.
Why Maca Can Look Like It Raises Testosterone
There is one important caveat that has caused real confusion, even in clinical settings. A case report published in BMJ Case Reports described a young woman taking maca whose blood test showed a total testosterone reading of 25.8 nmol/l, nearly nine times the upper limit of normal for women. She had no physical signs of excess testosterone, like unusual hair growth or voice changes. Just months earlier, her testosterone had been a normal 0.8 nmol/l.
When her doctors retested the same blood sample using a different, higher-sensitivity lab method, testosterone came back at 2.9 nmol/l, right at the upper edge of normal. One month after she stopped taking maca, her levels measured 1.5 nmol/l on the original test. The conclusion: maca contains an unidentified compound with a molecular structure similar enough to human testosterone that it fools certain common lab assays. The testosterone was never actually elevated. The test was picking up a maca compound and misreading it as testosterone.
This matters because if you’re taking maca and get bloodwork done, a standard testosterone immunoassay could return a falsely high result. If this happens, asking your lab to rerun the sample with a more specific assay method can clarify whether the reading is genuine.
How Maca Affects Libido Without Raising Testosterone
One of the main reasons women search for this topic is that maca has a reputation for boosting sex drive, and testosterone is the hormone most associated with libido. So it’s natural to assume maca must work by increasing testosterone. The actual mechanism appears to be more interesting than that.
Researchers studying maca’s effects on antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction in women found that libido improvements occurred without any significant changes in estradiol, progesterone, or prolactin. Given the lab-assay interference issue, testosterone readings in these studies are difficult to interpret cleanly. But the leading hypothesis is that maca contains a compound that may act directly on testosterone receptors in target tissues, mimicking some of testosterone’s effects without actually changing the amount of testosterone circulating in your blood.
A 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested 3,000 mg per day of maca root in women experiencing sexual dysfunction from antidepressant medications. This is one of the better-designed studies in this area, and it reinforces the pattern: maca can improve sexual function outcomes, but the hormonal profile doesn’t shift the way you’d expect if testosterone were the driver.
What Maca Does to Other Hormones
While maca’s testosterone story is largely a non-event, its effects on other parts of the hormonal system are more notable. The plant’s active compounds, particularly its alkaloids and a group of fatty acid derivatives called macamides, appear to act on the signaling pathway between the brain and the adrenal glands. In practical terms, this means maca influences the body’s stress response and reproductive hormone balance rather than directly boosting androgens.
In postmenopausal women, a four-month crossover trial found that maca significantly increased estradiol while reducing LH, cortisol, and ACTH. It also improved bone density markers and reduced BMI. The cortisol reduction is particularly relevant because chronically elevated cortisol can suppress libido, disrupt sleep, and contribute to fatigue. Lowering cortisol and ACTH could explain why many women report feeling more energetic on maca, even without a testosterone increase.
Animal studies on rats with surgically removed ovaries (a model for menopause) showed that maca reduced both cortisol and ACTH while producing antidepressant-like behavioral effects. This fits with what women anecdotally report: better mood, more energy, improved sexual interest. These benefits are real, but they’re coming from changes in the stress hormone axis and possibly direct receptor activity, not from testosterone.
Doses Used in Clinical Trials
Most clinical trials in women have used 3,000 mg (3 grams) of maca root per day, typically in pre-gelatinized or powdered form, for periods ranging from 8 to 12 weeks. This is the dosage with the most research behind it. Effects on mood and libido tend to emerge after several weeks of consistent use rather than immediately. Lower doses are common in commercial supplements, but these haven’t been as rigorously tested.
Considerations for Hormonal Conditions
Because maca interacts with the signaling system between the brain, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, women with hormone-sensitive conditions have reasonable questions about safety. The current evidence suggests maca modulates this axis through the serotonin pathway, which in turn can influence thyroid hormone (T4) concentrations and reduce growth hormone signaling to the liver. These are subtle effects in healthy women, but they could be more consequential for someone with a thyroid disorder or a condition like PCOS where androgen balance is already disrupted.
The assay interference issue adds another layer of complexity for women with PCOS. If you’re monitoring testosterone levels as part of PCOS management and taking maca simultaneously, your lab results may not be reliable unless your provider is aware of the interference and requests an appropriate test method. There are no large trials specifically studying maca in women with PCOS or thyroid conditions, so the safety profile in these groups remains unclear.