Saw palmetto is an alternative medicine commonly used to treat an enlarged prostate. Saw palmetto also is sometimes recommended for women to balance hormone levels. However, the effect of saw palmetto on female hormones, such as estrogen, is not fully understood. Like any health supplement, ask your doctor before taking saw palmetto.
Estrogen
Estrogen refers to a group of related hormones that play major roles in regulating the reproductive cycle and sexual development of women. Estrogen is produced primarily in the ovaries and circulates through the bloodstream to regulate activities in many parts of the body, including the heart, bones, muscles and reproductive organs.
Saw Palmetto and Estrogen
While the exact effect of saw palmetto on estrogen is not fully understood, it is highly unlikely that saw palmetto causes the body to produce more estrogen. Some evidence indicates that saw palmetto may trigger effects that are similar to increasing levels of estrogen by imitating the activity of estrogen, reports a study published in the July 2010 issue of the "Southern Medical Journal."
Conflicting Views
However, other evidence indicates that saw palmetto actually reduces the activity of estrogen, MedlinePlus reports. One study found that saw palmetto reduces levels of estrogen receptors, the receptor molecules onto which estrogen binds to activate biochemical pathways, according to a paper published in 1992 in the journal "European Urology." However, this was a very small study involving 35 men with enlarged prostates. Additional research is needed to fully understand the effect of saw palmetto on estrogen.
Recommendations
Due to the poorly understood effect on estrogen, you may want to avoid taking saw palmetto at the same times as medications that contain estrogen, advises MedlinePlus. Hormone replacement therapy medications that use estrogen may cause interactions with saw palmetto. Additionally, birth control pills that contain estrogen many be rendered less effective by saw palmetto, possibly raising the risk of unexpected pregnancy.
References
- MedlinePlus: Saw Palmetto; December 2010
- New York Langone Medical Center: Saw Palmetto; August 2011
- "European Urology"; Evidence that Serenoa Repens Extract Displays an Antiestrogenic Activity ... ; F. Di Silverio, et al.; 1992
- "Southern Medical Journal"; A Possible Case of Saw Palmetto-Induced Pancreatitis; K.A. Wargo, et al.; July 2010
- Rush University Medical Center: Estrogen's Effects on the Female Body
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