Maca Root vs Ashwagandha: Men and Women

Quick answer

Ashwagandha has one moderate finding, on stress scores at 600 mg of extract a day, and early findings on sleep, strength training and menopause. Maca has two early findings, from trials of 2 to 3 g a day. Most research on either aimed at men or women covers outcomes this site leaves out, so this page compares the rest.^1,2,3,4

Key facts

Ashwagandha holds one moderate finding, on stress, and early ones on sleep, strength gains with training and menopause. Maca holds two early ones, on self-rated mood and energy and on menopause.^2,4
The training evidence for men favors ashwagandha: 57 young men lifting weights for 8 weeks gained more strength on 600 mg a day than on placebo, while in 10 trained basketball players, 2 g of maca for 2 weeks did not change jump height, shooting accuracy, sprints or fatigue.^5,6
For women, each file has a menopause finding graded early: four small ashwagandha trials in India, and small maca trials that a 2011 review judged too few and too weak for firm conclusions.^7,8
Forms differ in different ways: maca by root color and processing, ashwagandha by plant part and withanolide share. Neither has a standard extract.^2,4
NIH's liver database rates ashwagandha a likely cause of rare liver injury and maca an unlikely one. NIH's complementary health center says to avoid ashwagandha in pregnancy, and maca's safety there has not been studied.^9,10,11

What each one is

Maca is the root of a plant in the mustard family that grows high in the Peruvian Andes, where it has been eaten as a food for generations. Ashwagandha is the root of a shrub used in Ayurvedic medicine, and the trials behind it used concentrated extracts. One is mainly a food crop that is now also capsule material, the other mainly a herbal medicine.^2,10

LiverTox notes that none of the effects claimed for maca has been proven in prospective, rigorously controlled trials in people.¹⁰

That LiverTox note sets the tone. It says no claimed effect of maca has been proven in rigorous trials in people, and the ingredient file grades the studies that exist as early. Ashwagandha has a better-graded finding but the same weakness: small, short trials, many supplied by the extract's maker.^2,10

Men and women: what this comparison can and cannot say

Searches for this pair often end in "for men" or "for women". Most research aimed at either group, especially for maca, looks at outcomes this site does not cover, so none of it is used here. What remains is narrower but checkable. For men, the one measurable outcome in both files is performance in training. For women, both files carry a menopause finding graded early. Everything else on the page applies to anyone.

Where the two files overlap^2,4,5,6,7,8
Topic	Ashwagandha	Maca
Stress scores	Moderate	No finding
Self-rated mood and energy	No finding	Early
Sleep	Early	No finding
Strength gains with training	Early: two 8-week trials at 600 mg a day	No finding: one small trial at 2 g a day found no change in the measures tested
Menopause	Early: four small trials, 250 to 600 mg a day	Early: small trials in a 2011 review

The graded findings

Helps the body handle occasional stress, with lower cortisol levels measured in trials*^1,2,12

Moderate evidence

Two placebo-controlled trials of a branded root extract at 600 mg a day (64 adults for 60 days; 60 adults in three groups for 8 weeks) found lower stress questionnaire scores and lower blood cortisol than placebo; in the larger trial cortisol fell 27.9% against 7.9% on placebo. NIH's summary of seven trials (491 adults, all in India) points the same way, but the trials were small and short and the maker supplied the extract.

Amount studied: 600 mg a day of root extract, as 300 mg twice a day, for 8 weeks to 60 days

May support self-rated mood and energy*⁴

Early evidence

One randomized trial gave 175 adults in Peru 3 g a day of red or black maca extract or a placebo for 12 weeks. Among those living at low altitude, more people on either maca rated their mood higher from week 1 and their energy higher from week 2. Among highlanders, mood on red maca differed from placebo only in the first month. Each outcome was a single self-rated question, and one of the authors manages a company that makes nutraceuticals.

Amount studied: 3 g a day of red or black maca extract, for 12 weeks

May support strength gains when combined with resistance training*^5,13

Early evidence

Two 8-week trials of a branded root extract at 600 mg a day alongside a resistance training program (57 young men; 80 men and women) reported larger strength gains than placebo; in the first, bench press rose 46 kg against 26 kg. Both were run in India with extract supplied by the maker, and the first enrolled men with little training experience.

Amount studied: 600 mg a day of root extract (300 mg twice a day) for 8 weeks, with resistance training

May ease some self-rated discomforts around menopause*^7,14,15,16

Early evidence

Four small randomized trials in India gave women around or after menopause 250 to 600 mg a day of ashwagandha extract for 8 to 24 weeks, and each reported lower scores on menopause rating questionnaires than placebo. One, in 100 women, used 300 mg twice a day for 8 weeks; another, in 60 women aged 45 to 55, also counted fewer hot flashes. Two of the trials found higher estradiol and lower FSH and LH, a sign the extract can act on reproductive hormones.

Amount studied: 250 to 600 mg a day of root or root and leaf extract, for 8 to 24 weeks

Exercise trials are few and small. In 10 trained basketball players, 2 g a day for 2 weeks did not change jump height, shooting accuracy, repeated sprints or fatigue compared with placebo.⁶

Maca's menopause finding has its own entry on the maca guide page. It is graded early, like the ashwagandha one, and neither file shows one beating the other.

Forms, amounts and our label

Maca root and ashwagandha: forms and amounts^{1,2,3,4,9,10,16}
Item	Ashwagandha	Maca
Forms	Root extract, or root and leaf extract; withanolide share ranges from under 1% to about 5%	Dried powder, gelatinized powder, or extract; yellow, red and black roots differ in chemistry
Amount in the trials cited here	600 mg of extract a day, as two 300 mg doses	2 g of gelatinized maca, or 3 g of red or black extract, a day
Amount on products	150 to 600 mg capsules, one to three times a day	About 500 to 3,000 mg a day
Longest trial cited	24 weeks, in women after menopause	3 to 4 months, in women in early postmenopause

Gelatinizing maca means rehydrating the dried root briefly under pressure and drying it again, which makes the starch easier to digest. Colors matter too: in the 2016 trial, red and black extracts differed in their chemistry and red gave larger changes in self-rated mood and energy. Extracts differ from maker to maker, so a result for one does not carry over to another.⁴

What’s in ours

Ashwagandha Complex: Maca Root Powder, 150 mg per serving, from the label

What’s in ours

Ashwagandha Complex: KSM-66 Ashwagandha Extract, 600 mg per serving, from the label

Ashwagandha Complex lists 600 mg of a branded root extract, matching the amount most trials used, and 150 mg of maca root powder, under a tenth of the maca trial amounts. The maca findings therefore do not describe the capsule.^1,3,4

Safety side by side

Cautions for maca root and ashwagandha^2,9,10,11,17
Feature	Ashwagandha	Maca
Liver	NIH's liver database rates it a likely cause of rare liver injury, usually 2 to 12 weeks after starting	Rated an unlikely cause; one published case of jaundice after a maca liquor
Common side effects	Upset stomach, loose stools, nausea, drowsiness	Uncommon and usually mild: stomach upset and headache
Blood tests and pressure	Thyroid hormone levels may change	In a 90-day trial in adults with metabolic syndrome, 0.6 g a day moderately raised a liver enzyme and diastolic blood pressure
Pregnancy and breastfeeding	Avoid in pregnancy and do not use while breastfeeding, per NIH's complementary health center	Safety has not been studied in either
Medicines	NIH names thyroid hormone, blood pressure, diabetes, immune-suppressing and sedative medicines	No medicine is named in the official sources we checked, which reflects little testing

FDA told consumers in 2019 not to buy or use a product sold as Peru Maca, after its laboratory found sildenafil, a prescription drug ingredient, that was not on the label.¹⁸

FDA's warning about a product sold as Peru Maca is a reminder that the label of an unfamiliar brand is not always the whole story. It does not describe maca itself.¹⁸

Ashwagandha might raise testosterone levels, so experts say it might not be safe for men with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.^2,11

Questions people ask

Is maca root or ashwagandha better for men?

The only measurable outcome in both files that applies to men is training. In two 8-week trials of 600 mg a day of ashwagandha extract alongside weight training, strength gains were larger than on placebo, and we grade that early. The one maca training trial found no change. Other outcomes people search for here are ones this site does not cover.^5,6,13

Is maca root or ashwagandha better for women?

Each file has a menopause finding graded early and neither shows one beating the other. The ashwagandha one rests on four small randomized trials of 250 to 600 mg a day for 8 to 24 weeks, and the maca one on small trials that a 2011 review judged too few and too weak for firm conclusions.^7,8,16

Does either change hormone levels?

Possibly, and that is a reason to ask first. A pooled analysis of 23 ashwagandha trials found a modest rise in the thyroid hormone T4 and a rise in testosterone in men, and two menopause trials reported higher estradiol. One trial of a branded pre-gelatinized maca reported higher estradiol and lower FSH in women in early postmenopause. If you have a hormone-sensitive condition, ask a doctor before taking either.^3,7,19

Can I take them together?

No trial tested the pair. Our Ashwagandha Complex contains both, and our pairing page covers amounts, timing and cautions.^2,10

See what we make

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See the Full Measure line Ashwagandha Complex

Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.