Saw palmetto (seranoa repens) is a low-growing small palm tree with fanlike leaves or fronds and small berry-shaped fruits. Saw palmetto is native to and grows naturally only in Florida and the southeast coastal vicinity in the US. Native Americans, such as Seminole Indians recognized saw palmetto fruits as a food despite their pungent taste, and also as a medicine. Native Americans ate saw palmetto fruits for hundreds of years. Although their use of Saw Palmetto berries was broad in resolving problems such as stomachache and dysentery, etc, the greatest perceived benefit by the early Spanish explorers was the relief from urinary problems and heightened sexual response.
Does Saw Palmeto help men with BPH?
German Commission E approved the internal use of saw palmetto fruit for urination problems associated with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) in early stages (I and II) to deter the progression of prostate enlargement. Additional studies are required for the saw palmetto's ability to reduce the enlarged prostate, although some recent researches suggest that saw palmetto may reduce the enlargement.
Results of first U.S. randomized clinical trial on saw palmetto and prostate health was announced at American Urological Association annual meeting, May 1999.
It was reported that regular use of a saw palmetto dietary supplement appears to shrink prostate tissues, specifically the epithelial, or glandular, tissues of the prostate, according to a new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on saw palmetto and prostate health. Conducted by the Urological Sciences Research Foundation, the study is the first to actually biopsy participants' prostate tissue to observe the effects of saw palmetto.
Study investigators monitored the prostate health of 44 men during a six-month period. All the participants suffered from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Most importantly, biopsies revealed that participants who used saw palmetto also experienced a significant decrease in the epithelial, or glandular, component of their prostate. This study indicates that saw palmetto significantly decreases the growth of prostate tissue and improves BPH symptoms - without any adverse hormonal effects. Clinical associate professor in the Department of Urology with the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine and founder of the Urological Sciences Research Foundation. "I believe urologists may now consider saw palmetto a viable, natural, alternative treatment for many men with BPH."
The results of the study are consistent with a November 1998 literature review of the effects of saw palmetto on BPH published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Saw palmetto berries have been shown in vitro to inhibit 5-alpha-reductase and aromatase, which has significance in prostate enlargement. 5-alpha-reductase is responsible for converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), signaling prostate gland to produce more testosterone by growing larger. Besides the prevention of BPH, saw palmetto promotes heighten sexual responses. The limiting effect of saw palmetto on 5-alpha-reductase also suggests that saw palmetto could be helpful to slow hair loss, since DHT causes the hair follicle cells to degenerate.
References
Cell Biol Int 2001;25(11):1117-24 - Saw palmetto berry extract inhibits cell growth and Cox-2 expression in prostatic cancer cells
Urology 2001 Dec;58(6 Suppl 1):71-6; discussion 76-7 - Phytotherapy in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia
Urology 2001 Dec;58(6):960-4; discussion 964-5 - Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of saw palmetto in men with lower urinary tract symptoms
Planta Med 2001 Aug;67(6):489-500 - Extracts from fruits of saw palmetto (Sabal serrulata) and roots of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica): viable alternatives in the medical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and associated lower urinary tracts symptoms
J Urol 2000 May;163(5):1451-6 - Effects of a saw palmetto herbal blend in men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia
J Urol 2000 May;163(5):1408-12 - Saw palmetto for the treatment of men with lower urinary tract symptoms
JAMA 1998 Nov 11;280(18):1604-9 - Saw palmetto extracts for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a systematic review
Urology 1998 Jun;51(6):1003-7 - Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) in men with lower urinary tract symptoms: effects on urodynamic parameters and voiding symptoms
Urologe A 1995 Mar;34(2):119-29 - Status of phytotherapeutic drugs in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia
J Nat Prod 1997 Apr;60(4):417-8 Biologically active acylglycerides from the berries of saw-palmetto (Serenoa repens)
Pharmacol Res 2002 Mar;45(3):213-220 - Inhibitory effect of herbal remedies on 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-promoted Epstein--Barr virus early antigen activation
Other literature:
Carraro JC, Raynaud JP, Koch G, Chisholm GD, DiSilverio F, Teillac P, et al. Comparison of phytotherapy (Permixon) with finasteride in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a randomized international study of 1,098 patients. Prostate 1996;29:231-40.
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