Saw palmetto is a small, spiny palm tree indigenous to Florida. This tree bears a ripe fruit that has been used medicinally as an herb for years by the Seminole tribe. Saw palmetto is found in various forms including tablets, capsules, liquid extracts and tea. It is most commonly used to help reduce enlarged prostate glands, to ease pelvic pain, and to combat hair loss. Since saw palmetto is considered an herb, it is important to check with a physician before using it.
Enlarged Prostate/Prostate Cancer
Saw palmetto can help diminish the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, or enlarged prostate glands and treat prostate cancer, states MedlinePlus. In a study published in the May 2001 issue of "Urology," L. Marks and colleagues from the Urological Sciences Research Foundation in California found that saw palmetto has the ability to suppress prostatic levels of dihydrotestosterone and inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha reductase, which cause an enlarged prostate. The men in this study, who were given saw palmetto versus a placebo, reduced their dihydrotestosterone levels by 32 percent. Another study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and published in the September 2004 issue of "Prostate" concluded that saw palmetto not only reduces an enlarged prostate, but can also possibly reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In this study, a phytotherapeutic agent found in saw palmetto known as Permixon, proved in large quantities to stop or reduce cell growth associated with cancer.
Hair Loss
Saw palmetto can help reduce hair loss. Although more research is necessary, a small study published in the March 2006 issue of "The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine " indicated that men who used saw palmetto found a reduction in androgenetic alopecia, or hair loss. This study involved 19 male participants between the ages of 23 and 64, who were given 400 mg of saw palmetto and 100 mg of Beta-sitosterol or a placebo. Those participants who received the saw palmetto and Beta-sitosterol combination showed 60 percent more hair growth than the participants who used the placebo.
Pelvic Pain
Saw palmetto may also help reduce pelvic pain and chronic pelvic pain syndrome. A study published in the March 2010 issue of "Urologia Internationalis," indicated that saw palmetto can help offset the symptoms of pelvic pain and chronic pelvic pain syndrome. In this study, 102 patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome were given either a treatment of Profluss, which is a combination of saw palmetto, lycopene, and selenium or just saw palmetto on its own. These treatments were monitored and given to participants for eight weeks. The participants' symptoms were evaluated on the National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index. Both groups showed significant improvements; however, those who used Profluss had the most relief with their index scores going from 27.45 to 13.27, more than a 50 percent reduction, whereas using saw palmetto by itself only gave participants a 26 percent reduction in their symptoms.
References
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Saw Palmetto
- PubMed.gov: Tissue effects of saw palmetto and finasteride: use of biopsy cores for in situ quantification of prostatic androgens.
- PubMed.gov: Effect of permixon on human prostate cell growth: lack of apoptotic action.Effect of permixon on human prostate cell growth: lack of apoptotic action.
- PubMed.gov: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of botanically derived inhibitors of 5-alpha-reductase in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.
- MedlinePlus: Saw Palmetto
- PubMed.gov: Treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome category IIIA with Serenoa repens plus selenium and lycopene (Profluss) versus S. repens alone: an Italian randomized multicenter-controlled study.
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