Saw Palmetto In Herbal Supplements

Other Common Names: Sabal, Serenoa repens, Sabal serrulata

Range: Southeastern N. America - South Carolina to Florida, west to Arkansas.

Habitat: Low pine woods, savannas and thickets, where it often forms substantial thickets. Also found on coastal sand dunes.

Saw palmetto, a member of the palm family Arecaceae, is native to the West Indies and the Atlantic Coast of North America, from South Carolina to Florida. Saw palmetto berries contain sterols and lipids, including relatively high concentrations of free and bound sitosterols. The following chemicals have been identified in the berries: anthranilic acid, capric acid, caproic acid, caprylic acid, -carotene, ferulic acid, mannitol, beta-sitosterol, beta-sitosterol-D-glucoside, linoleic acid, myristic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, 1-monolaurin and 1-monomyristin. A number of other common plants (e.g., basil, corn, soybean) also contain beta-sitosterol. Saw palmetto extract has become the sixth best-selling herbal dietary supplement in the United States. In Europe, several pharmaceutical companies sell saw palmetto-based over-the-counter (OTC) drugs for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Additional pharmaceutical preparations that contain saw palmetto extract as an ingredient have been patented as hair lotions for the treatment of seborrhea and hair loss, capsules for the treatment of hair loss, and lotions/ointments for the treatment of acne. Beta-sitosterol is available as a cholesterol-lowering drug, and is an ingredient in some contraceptive drugs.

Plantation Medicinals (the largest U.S. producer) harvests about 5,000 tons of saw palmetto berries per year in Hendry County, Florida. The second largest producer of the berries is Wilcox Natural Products in Boone, North Carolina. The export of saw palmetto berries from Florida has become a $50 million dollar a year industry, with about 2,000 tons of the berries exported to Europe each year. No production and import volumes were found for sitosterol.

Historically, American Indians used the berries for food. Since 1994 when federal dietary supplement laws were relaxed, the most common use of the berries by Americans is as an herbal health remedy. The berries have been used for treating stomach ache, bronchitis, diabetes, cancer, and cystitis; they have also been used as a diuretic, aphrodisiac, and for breast enlargement. Saw palmetto berries are claimed to relieve irritated throat and symptoms of the common cold. The dried berries have been used as a menstrual drug product. Saw palmetto berry extracts have been reported to be effective in the treatment of BPH. However, significant inhibition of prostate growth has not been demonstrated, and a critical analysis of data on the effects of phytotherapy (including saw palmetto berry extracts) in BPH treatment suggested that the effects were no better than placebo treatment.

Saw palmetto extract is not recognized as safe and effective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is misbranded when labeled as an OTC drug for use as an orally administered menstrual drug product. In the U.S., saw palmetto extract may not be sold or labeled as therapeutic support for the prostate gland or reproductive organs.

Saw palmetto berries are a tonic herb that is used in the treatment of debility, urinary tract problems and for reducing enlarged prostate glands.

The partially dried ripe fruit is aphrodisiac, urinary antiseptic, diuretic, expectorant, sedative and tonic. It is taken internally in the treatment of impotence, debility in elderly men, prostate enlargement and inflammation, bronchial complaints associated with coldness, and wasting diseases. Saw palmetto is one of the few Western herbs that are considered to be anabolic (strengthening and building body tissue and encouraging weight gain. The fruit pulp, or a tincture, is given to those suffering from wasting disease, general debility and failure to thrive. The fruit also has a beneficial effect on the urinary system, helping to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate gland and strengthening the neck of the bladder. The fruit has a probable oestrogenic action, it is prescribed in the treatment of impotence, reduced or absent sex drive and testicular atrophy in men and to stimulate breast enlargement in women. The fruit is also used in the treatment of colds, coughs, irritated mucous membranes, asthma etc.

A suppository of the powdered fruits, in cocoa butter, has been used as a uterine and vaginal tonic.

Fruit - raw or cooked. A sweet flavour but with a soapy taste and a strong vanilla-like aroma. Regular consumption of the fruit is supposed to be very beneficial to the health, improving the digestion and helping to increase weight and strength.

Known Hazards: In rare cases, the consumption of saw palmetto berries may cause stomach problems, while large amounts might cause diarrhea. Only minor side effects were reported in studies of BPH patients ingesting saw palmetto extract: half of the side-effect symptoms were gastrointestinal. When phytosterols (including beta-sitosterol) were taken orally to lower plasma cholesterol levels, no obvious side effects were noted.

Acute toxicity data for saw palmetto extract were not found; the acute toxicity for beta-sitosterol administered intraperitoneal (i.p.) to mice is >3000 mg/kg (>7.23 mmol/kg).

  • Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148

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