Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is marketed as a sport supplement for athletes due to the claim that it can improve exercise performance. Animal studies do show that maca can increase time to exhaustion but the effects it has on humans is more controversial. This relates mainly to the fact that animals can ethically be tested to true exhaustion, for example by making them swim until they almost drown. However, such methods are not suitable for humans, and so the effects on exhaustive exercise are harder to discern. For example, in one study researchers administered maca to a group of cyclists before exposing them to a period of exercise over a number of weeks. The results showed that the maca had no effects on exercise ability compared to the placebo, suggesting that either the supplement was ineffective or that the method was not suitable for examining the effects of the supplements. However, the cyclists did report an increase in sexual desire following consumption of the maca, supporting the contention that it may enhance libido.
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