Efecto del extracto de Maca (Lepidium meyenii) sobre los niveles de testosterona y parámetros de calidad seminal en conejos (Oryctolagus Cuniculus) mestizos adultos

Abstract

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a hypocotyl native to the Andean region that has been cultivated for 2000 years. Maca is a root rich in essential amino acids, fatty acids and other nutrients. In addition, it contains abundant bioactive compounds responsible for various benefits for fertility and as an aphrodisiac product. Therefore, the objective of our research is to find out the effect of Maca on semen quality parameters and testosterone levels. For this reason, 4 treatments have been applied: T0: control group, T1: 0.1% Maca extract, T2: 0.2% Maca extract and T3: 0.3% Maca extract. It was administered to 48 6–7-month-old male rabbits from a cross between New Zealand and Belier. Through a complete randomized block design with 4 blocks per treatment consisting of 3 animals per block, the data were evaluated with Tukey's statistical test (p<0.05) with the InfoStat statistical program. Testosterone evaluation was carried out in two doses each for 15 days, taking a sample for each block of each treatment, which were evaluated in the laboratory with an Electrochemiluminescence technique, while semen samples were taken every day. Good results were obtained with the T2 and T3 treatments with the inclusion of 0.2% - 0.3% in the semen quality parameters, while in the testosterone tests the effect of Maca on this variable was not seen.