Horny Goat Weed vs Maca: Key Differences.

The short answer: NIH's LiverTox database lists one 250 or 500 mg capsule a day as the usual horny goat weed (Epimedium) amount and 500 to 3,000 mg a day for maca (Lepidium meyenii). So horny goat weed vs maca starts with two plants dosed on very different scales, and neither plant's promoted effects are proven. Our Horny Goat Weed & Maca Capsules hold 1,000 mg of Epimedium extract per 2-capsule serving.

Key takeaways

• Horny goat weed and maca aren't two versions of one herb: one is the leaves and stems of a low perennial, the other a tuber from the high Andes.
• Epimedium products are compared by milligrams of icariin, and maca products by the weight of root.
• LiverTox says the promoted effects of both plants remain unproven in rigorous controlled human trials, and it rates both an unlikely cause of liver injury.
• Betterly's Horny Goat Weed & Maca Capsules are an Epimedium product first, and maca makes up about 5% of the weight on the panel.

A note on bias: we sell all three products on this page, including the one that puts both plants in one capsule. Every milligram figure for our products comes straight from its Supplement Facts panel, lopsided maca amount included.

Horny goat weed vs maca: how different are these two plants?

Horny goat weed and maca differ in nearly every basic way: plant part, habitat, whether people eat them, and serving size.

LiverTox is a National Institutes of Health database that reviews herbs and medicines for liver safety. Its horny goat weed record and its maca record line up like this:

The two plants share a liver rating and an unproven reputation, and not much else.

LiverTox describes Epimedium, also called barrenwort or yin yang huo, as a low plant with leathery leaves. It has long been used as a tonic, meaning something taken for general vigor. Maca, nicknamed "Peruvian ginseng," is a mustard-family root that grows in several colors. Our maca label lists black, red and yellow root as separate rows.

Maca vs Epimedium: what's inside each plant?

Epimedium's best-known compounds are flavonoids such as icariin, while maca is mostly carbohydrate and protein, plus a few compounds found only in maca.

LiverTox counts more than 200 compounds in horny goat weed. The ones believed active are flavonoids, a big family of plant pigments, such as icariin, icaritin and epimedin.

Maca reads more like a food. LiverTox lists carbohydrates and protein as its main components, with macamides, macaenes and maca alkaloids among the secondary ones unique to the plant.

That difference shows up on labels:

• On an Epimedium label, look for the extract's weight and any marker compound. Ours lists 1,000 mg of Epimedium sagittatum extract with "100mg of Icariins," which works out to 10% icariins.
• On a maca label, look for the root's weight and form. Ours gives three rows of organic maca root by color, with no extract ratio and no marker.

Our guide to reading icariin percentages walks through the icariin math for any brand.

Which has stronger research, horny goat weed or maca?

Neither horny goat weed nor maca has effects proven in rigorous human trials, but maca has been tested on its own, while the Epimedium trials LiverTox details tested blends.

For Epimedium, LiverTox mentions promising results from studies of its extracts, with sexual satisfaction among them. It then says none of those effects has been proven in rigorous controlled trials. A 2015 review cited in the same notes was blunter, reporting scarcely any evidence that the herb is active.

The two trials LiverTox describes in detail both used multi-herb products: a five-ingredient formula for 2 weeks and a six-ingredient remedy for 6 months. That makes it hard to credit Epimedium, or blame it, for any result.

For maca, LiverTox calls the human results conflicting. It adds that "none of these effects have been proven in prospective, rigorously controlled trials in humans."

The takeaway: maca's evidence is thin but readable, while Epimedium's is thin and tangled up with other herbs. Our roundup of maca's small trials covers each one's caveats.

At 1.5 g or more a day, those maca trials used at least 24 times the maca in one serving of our combo.

How much horny goat weed and maca is in a serving, ours included?

A typical horny goat weed capsule holds 250 or 500 mg, maca runs 500 to 3,000 mg a day, and our three labels land far apart on those scales.

Our Organic Maca Root Capsules are maca-only, apart from 5 mg of black pepper fruit. Our Tongkat Ali, Maca & Ginseng Capsules are actually tablets.

Against LiverTox's figures, the combo's 1,000 mg of Epimedium extract equals 2 to 4 usual capsules. LiverTox doesn't say whether those capsules hold extract or plain herb, so treat this as a rough comparison.

The combo's 62.5 mg of maca is one-eighth of the 500 mg low end. The maca-only capsule's 1,500 mg sits inside the range, and the tablet's 250 mg is half the low end.

Put another way, one 2-capsule serving of the maca-only bottle holds as much maca as 48 capsules of the combo. That's most of a 60-capsule bottle.

The combo's front label does print "62.5MG" over "Maca Powder," so the number isn't hidden. But the name gives both plants equal billing, and the panel doesn't. Its nine rows add up to 1,164.5 mg, so maca is about 5% of the total.

Can you take maca and horny goat weed together?

You can take maca and horny goat weed together, as our combo does, but neither LiverTox entry describes a trial of the pair.

Neither entry mentions the other plant or lists an interaction between them. The horny goat weed entry does note that the herb is often mixed with other botanicals, picked to fit what the product is sold for. So when a product page promises "horny goat weed with maca benefits," read it as two separate claims placed side by side.

Stacking our own bottles works out like this:

• The combo plus the maca-only capsules gives you 1,562.5 mg of maca and 1,000 mg of Epimedium extract a day. Neither label plans for the other, so ask your provider before combining them.
• The combo plus the tablets gives you only 312.5 mg of maca, tongkat ali from two sources, and the zinc problem below. We wouldn't pair these two.

From our shop: Horny Goat Weed & Maca Capsules — built for Epimedium first, with 1,000 mg of extract standardized to 100 mg of icariins per 2-capsule serving and maca as a 62.5 mg supporting row.

Horny goat weed, maca or both: which one fits your goal?

Choose by the plant you actually want: wanting Epimedium points to our combo, wanting maca points to a maca-only capsule, and wanting proof points to neither.

In short, let the plant decide. The combo makes sense only if Epimedium is what drew you in, and it sits in our Targeted Support collection beside the tribulus formulas.

The Tongkat Ali, Maca & Ginseng tablet stays off that table on purpose. According to the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements zinc fact sheet, the upper limit for adults is 40 mg a day. That counts food, drinks, supplements and medicines together.

The tablet's label lists 50 mg of zinc (455% DV) per 2-tablet serving, so following its directions alone overshoots that limit. We don't suggest taking it at that dose, and anyone considering it should talk with a healthcare provider first.

How do you take horny goat weed and maca by the label?

All three Betterly labels say to take two once a day, and only the maca-only capsule adds timing: 20 to 30 minutes before a meal.

1. Horny Goat Weed & Maca Capsules. "Take two (2) capsules once a day." No timing or food note.
2. Organic Maca Root Capsules. "As a dietary supplement, take two (2) capsules once a day," plus "For best results, take 20-30 min before a meal or as directed by your healthcare professional."
3. Tongkat Ali, Maca & Ginseng Capsules. "Take two (2) tablets once a day." Because that serving holds 50 mg of zinc, skip it unless a provider has reviewed your total zinc and okayed it.

The caution line on all three bottles reads, "Do not exceed recommended dose." So you can't raise the combo's maca by taking more of it, because four capsules would also double the Epimedium extract to 2,000 mg. If you want more maca, switch products.

From our shop: Organic Maca Root Capsules — 1,000 mg of black maca root leads the 1,500 mg of organic root in each 2-capsule serving, in a hypromellose shell instead of gelatin.

When don't you need horny goat weed or maca?

Horny goat weed and maca are poor picks if you need a proven effect, a quick lift, or a full serving of both from one bottle.

• You need something proven. LiverTox's verdict on both plants is that the promoted effects aren't.
• You're after a stimulant. Caffeine appears on none of our three panels.
• You already take a formula with Epimedium or maca. A second bottle mostly adds dose.
• A change in your energy or desire is new and unexplained. Start with a clinician, not a supplement.

Who should check with a healthcare provider first?

Talk to a healthcare provider before starting horny goat weed or maca if you're pregnant, nursing or under 18, take medicine, have surgery ahead or manage a medical condition.

Each of our three labels prints the same caution: "Consult a physician if pregnant, nursing, under 18, or have a medical condition." Other reasons to ask first:

• You take any medicine. Bring the whole panel, since the tablet alone has a 13-ingredient proprietary blend.
• Your provider wants you off estrogen-like herbs. LiverTox's notes cite a 2016 review that credits icaritin, one of Epimedium's flavonoids, with apparent estrogen-like activity.
• You've been told to limit phenylalanine. The combo lists 30 mg of L-phenylalanine per 2-capsule serving.
• Shellfish is off-limits for you. The tablet lists oyster extract, and its allergen line reads, "Contains: Shellfish (Oyster)."
• You already take zinc. The tablet alone passes the 40 mg adult limit.
• You have a procedure coming up. Tell your care team about every supplement you take.

The last caution is about the category, not these two plants. FDA's page of sexual enhancement and energy product notifications warns that many products sold for sexual enhancement are likely tainted with dangerous ingredients the label leaves out. A product that's missing from the list isn't necessarily safe, the agency adds.

So put back any bottle with no Supplement Facts panel or a promise of instant results. Our horny goat weed safety guide covers stacking and symptoms in more depth.

FAQ: horny goat weed vs maca

Is horny goat weed stronger than maca?

Horny goat weed isn't stronger than maca in any measured way, since neither LiverTox entry describes a head-to-head trial. On our labels, Epimedium appears as an extract standardized to 100 mg of icariins, while the maca rows list plain root with no extract ratio. So 1,000 mg of extract and 1,500 mg of root don't sit on the same scale.

Does maca contain icariin?

No, icariin isn't among maca's compounds in LiverTox; it's one of the flavonoids LiverTox names in Epimedium. For maca, the database lists macamides, macaenes and maca alkaloids as compounds unique to the plant. Our Organic Maca Root Capsules panel lists no icariin either. Among our three labels, icariin shows up only in the combo, at 100 mg per 2-capsule serving.

Why does a horny goat weed and maca capsule have so little maca?

Betterly's Horny Goat Weed & Maca Capsules hold 62.5 mg of maca per 2-capsule serving because the formula is built around 1,000 mg of Epimedium extract, with maca in a supporting role. That's one-eighth of the 500 mg low end LiverTox gives for maca. Other brands vary, so read the maca row in milligrams rather than trusting the name on the front.

Can you mix maca root powder with horny goat weed capsules?

Yes, you can add maca root powder alongside horny goat weed capsules, but count its milligrams. LiverTox describes maca as a food as well as a supplement. If you stir maca powder into meals while taking a horny goat weed product, total your maca against LiverTox's 500 to 3,000 mg daily range. Our combo adds only 62.5 mg. Ask your provider first if you take any medicine.

Can women take horny goat weed and maca?

Yes, women can take horny goat weed or maca, and the real difference between our bottles is whether Epimedium comes along. The maca-only capsule contains no Epimedium, so the icaritin note in the provider section above doesn't apply to it. The combo carries 1,000 mg of Epimedium extract per 2-capsule serving. All three labels ask anyone pregnant or nursing to consult a physician first.

Sources

• Horny Goat Weed, LiverTox (NCBI Bookshelf, National Institutes of Health)
• Maca, LiverTox (NCBI Bookshelf, National Institutes of Health)
• Zinc: Fact Sheet for Consumers (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Sexual Enhancement and Energy Product Notifications (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

If this left you looking for somewhere to start, read horny goat weed with maca capsules — its amounts per serving are listed on the page. For the practical questions this raises, how dosing, sourcing and subscriptions work is answered in one place.