Saw Palmetto is a palm tree found in the United States of American and the West Indies.  Used mainly in Europe, the extract from the Saw Palmetto has many medicinal purposes as each berry contains large quantities of Beta-Sitosterol, other plant sterols¹, and fatty acids².   Beta-Sitosterol is known to be beneficial for many ailments, some of which are:

Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

What does the name Benign Prostate Hyperplasia mean?

• Benign – lacks all three of the malignant properties of cancer, can therefore normally be classed as harmless to health.
• Prostate – is reference to the gland.
• Hyperplasia – an over growth of normal cells.

The Prostate is a gland that is part of the male reproductive system.  It is around the size of a walnut and is vital to the production of Semen.  In order for a man to be able to go to the toilet, his urine travels through a tube called the Urethra.  The Urethra is around 15 centimetres long, and divided into four sections; with each section having its own name.  One of the sections; The Prostatic Urethra; crosses through the prostate gland. 

When a man is suffering from Benign Prostate Hyperplasia, the Prostate Gland grows. When the Prostate grows it starts to squeeze the Urethra, making the circumference of the tube smaller, so instead of the urine being able to flow through the Urethra as it normally would, it starts to drip through instead.  Because of this, the bladder is never totally empty, making the man feel as though he constantly needs to go to the toilet.

In Germany 90% of patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia are treated with Saw Palmetto or other plant extracts.³ The reason why Saw Palmetto acts the way it does in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is still unknown, but many theories have been proposed, including an antiandrogenic effect, an anti-inflammatory effect through action of prostaglandins, a direct inhibition of prostate growth, or an alteration in the available sex hormone-binding globulin.³

In one study nearly a quarter of men seen at a university urology clinic for urinary symptoms indicated that they had tried phytotherapeutic agents� to relieve their symptoms.

In a different study, 3139 men from 21 randomized trials lasting 4 to 48 weeks were assessed.  18 of the trials were double-blinded and treatment allocation concealment was adequate in 11 studies.  Compared with a placebo, Saw Palmetto improved urinary symptom scores, symptoms and flow measures�.

Cholesterol Lowering Effects

It has been found that once Phytosterols are ingested they reduce cholesterol absorption by competing with cholesterol for intestinal uptake.���

¹Elghamry M, et al. Activity and isolated phytoestrogen of shrub palmetto fruits (Serenoa repens Small), a new estrogenic plant. Experientia 1969; 25:828-29.
²Shimada H, et al. Biologically active acylglycerides from the berries of saw-palmetto (Serenoa repens). J Nat Prod 1997; 60:417-18.
³Lowe FC, Ku JC. Phytotherapy in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a critical review. Urology 1996;48: 12-20
�Wilt T, Ishani A, MacDonald R, Stark G, Mulrow C, Lau J. Beta-Sitosterols for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000:CD001043.
�Wilt T, Ishani A, MacDonald RSerenoa Repens for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000; (2): CD001423.
�Varaday KA, Ebine N, Vanstone CA, Parsons WE, Jones PJ. Plant sterols and endurance training combine to favourably alter plasma lipid profiles in previously sedentary hypercholesterolemic adults after 8 weeks. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004.
�Lamarche B, Desroches S, Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Marchie A, Faulkner D, Vidgen E, Lapsley KG, Trautwein EA, Parker TL, Josse RG, Leiter LA, Connelly PW. Combined effects of a dietary portfolio of plant sterols, vegetable protein, viscous fibre and almonds on LDL particle size. Br Jour Nutr Oct 2004.
�Oslund RE Jr. Phytosterols and cholesterol metabolism Curr Opin Lipidil. 2004.