With an increase in the number of people suffering from ageing-related diseases in our rapidly aging society, interests in natural products such as maca(Lepidium meyenii), which has properties of enhancing cognition and sexual performance, have increased. This study was conducted to assess the effects of 7 weeks of maca extract supplementation(0.5~2.0g/㎏ BW) on scopolamine-induced amnesia in mice and on sperm count in male mice. All doses of maca supplementation significantly protected against scopolamine-induced amnesia as determined by a Morris water maze, but not according to passive avoidance tests. Maca supplementation did not affect acetylcholinesterase activity in the whole brain, nor the testicular sperm count of male mice. This study suggests that maca may have some neuroprotective properties in mice, which will be further examined by future studies.

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