Saw Palmetto Supplement Information

As of 2002, more than 2.5 million people in the United States used the herb saw palmetto for health purposes, according to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. It is frequently used for the urinary symptoms that accompany benign prostatic hypertrophy. Take this herb only under the supervision of a qualified health care practitioner.

Botanical Description

Saw palmetto is a small, shrublike palm tree that bears a pulpy, one-seeded brownish berry. Indigenous to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States, the saw palmetto has stiff, fan-shaped leaves. It is one of the most common plants in Florida. Native Americans used saw palmetto leaves to stuff mattresses, thatch roofs and weave baskets and hats, writes Michael Castleman in "The New Healing Herbs." Native Americans also used the berry of the saw palmetto for medicinal purposes. Saw palmetto is often grown as an ornamental plant. However, it is its healing potential that has attracted the most interest and attention today.

Uses of Saw Palmetto

According to "The New Healing Herbs," saw palmetto has been historically recommended by herbalists for a number of purposes, from coughs and bronchitis to breast enlargement. However, it is most known for its role in treating benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH, a condition associated with aging in men. In BPH, the prostate enlarges and causes problems with bladder function. The King's American Dispensatory, a medical text, recommended saw palmetto for BPH in the year 1898. Its use was abandoned by the early 20th century as physicians began to move away from herbal remedies, but European researchers in the 1960s found that saw palmetto was rich in sitosterols, compounds useful in treating BPH. Interest in this herb was then renewed.

Scientific Research

The scientific research on saw palmetto has yielded contradictory results. Some small clinical trials indicated that saw palmetto was beneficial in treating the characteristic urinary symptoms of BPH, including the urge to urinate frequently and the need to get up and urinate in the night. In fact, some studies showed that saw palmetto was equivalent to finasteride, a synthetic antiandrogen often used to treat BPH. However, a systematic review of studies on saw palmetto by researchers from the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center concluded that the herb was no better than placebo. Research on saw palmetto continues, but patients should know that the jury is still out on its benefits.

Saw Palmetto Safety

Side effects are infrequently seen in people taking saw palmetto, according to MayoClinic.com. When they do occur, they are frequently gastrointestinal in nature, and may include nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, halitosis, diarrhea and constipation. A very few reports have implicated saw palmetto in ulcers, liver damage and jaundice. However, MayoClinic.com states that the role of saw palmetto in these cases remains unclear. Men with prostate problems should not use saw palmetto for symptoms unless advised by their physicians. Its use may lower prostate specific antigens and thus mask a marker for prostate cancer, delaying its diagnosis.