Lepidium meyenii (maca) consumption prevent benign prostatic hyperplasia

Abstract

Lepidium meyenii (maca) is a Peruvian Andean with effects against benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH); a disease associated with male sexual dysfunction.BPH was induced in mice with two doses of testosterone enanthate (TE) (83mg/kg, day 1 and 7), a negative control received the vehicle. Experimental groups received TE alone or TE in combination with Finasteride (FN) (0.6 mg/Kg/day), a drug used to treat BPH, red maca (RM)( 167 mg/Kg/day), or black maca (BM)( 167 mg/Kg/day) extracts during 21 days. At the end of the study, weights of body and reproductive organs (prostate, seminal vesicles (SV), testicles, preputial glands (PG), and epididymis) were recorded and compared to negative controls.Results showed that TE induced BPH increasing weights of prostate and SV to 225% and 149% of negative controls, respectively. Treatments with FN, RM and BM prevented these effects and maintained prostate weights at 71%, 44%, and 82% of TE, respectively. The SV weights were maintained at 73%, 80% and 81% of TE, respectively. Weights of testicles, and PG were also increased by TE, and treatments with RM were more effective than BM or FN in maintaining weights closer to negative controls. Overall, RM protected against changes in weights of male reproductive organs that accompanied HPB at higher extent than FN or BM. The underlying mechanisms to explain the RM protective effects are being investigated.