Brooks Nicole A, Wilcox Gisela, Walker Karen Z, Ashton John F, Cox Marc B, Stojanovska Lily
School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Victoria University, St. Albans, Victoria, Australia.
Menopause. 2008 Nov-Dec;15(6):1157-62. doi: 10.1097/gme.0b013e3181732953.
To examine the estrogenic and androgenic activity of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) and its effect on the hormonal profile and symptoms in postmenopausal women.
Fourteen postmenopausal women completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. They received 3.5 g/day of powered Maca for 6 weeks and matching placebo for 6 weeks, in either order, over a total of 12 weeks. At baseline and weeks 6 and 12 blood samples were collected for the measurement of estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and sex hormone-binding globulin, and the women completed the Greene Climacteric Scale to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms. In addition, aqueous and methanolic Maca extracts were tested for androgenic and estrogenic activity using a yeast-based hormone-dependent reporter assay.
No differences were seen in serum concentrations of estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and sex hormone-binding globulin between baseline, Maca treatment, and placebo (P > 0.05). The Greene Climacteric Scale revealed a significant reduction in scores in the areas of psychological symptoms, including the subscales for anxiety and depression and sexual dysfunction after Maca consumption compared with both baseline and placebo (P < 0.05). These findings did not correlate with androgenic or alpha-estrogenic activity present in the Maca as no physiologically significant activity was observed in yeast-based assays employing up to 4 mg/mL Maca extract (equivalent to 200 mg/mL Maca).
Preliminary findings show that Lepidium meyenii (Maca) (3.5 g/d) reduces psychological symptoms, including anxiety and depression, and lowers measures of sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women independent of estrogenic and androgenic activity.
研究玛咖（Lepidium meyenii）的雌激素和雄激素活性及其对绝经后女性激素水平和症状的影响。
14名绝经后女性完成了一项随机、双盲、安慰剂对照的交叉试验。她们在总共12周的时间里，先后接受为期6周的3.5克/天的玛咖粉治疗和为期6周的匹配安慰剂治疗，顺序不限。在基线、第6周和第12周采集血样，测定雌二醇、促卵泡激素、促黄体激素和性激素结合球蛋白水平，同时让这些女性完成格林更年期量表以评估更年期症状的严重程度。此外，使用基于酵母的激素依赖性报告基因检测法检测玛咖水提取物和甲醇提取物的雄激素和雌激素活性。
在基线、玛咖治疗和安慰剂治疗期间，雌二醇、促卵泡激素、促黄体激素和性激素结合球蛋白的血清浓度没有差异（P>0.05）。格林更年期量表显示，与基线和安慰剂相比，食用玛咖后心理症状领域的得分显著降低，包括焦虑、抑郁和性功能障碍的子量表（P<0.05）。这些发现与玛咖中存在的雄激素或α-雌激素活性无关，因为在使用高达4毫克/毫升玛咖提取物（相当于200毫克/毫升玛咖）的基于酵母的检测中未观察到生理上显著的活性。
初步研究结果表明，玛咖（3.5克/天）可减轻绝经后女性的心理症状，包括焦虑和抑郁，并降低性功能障碍指标，且与雌激素和雄激素活性无关。
