Generic name: saw palmetto [ SAW-pal-MET-toe ]
Brand name: Prostate SR
Dosage form: oral capsule (-; 320 mg with phytosterols)
Drug class:Herbal products
What is saw palmetto?
Saw palmetto comes from a palm-like plant that grows in the southeast United States. The berries of this plant are used to make the capsule form of saw palmetto. Saw palmetto is also known as American Dwarf Palm Tree, Baies du Palmier Scie, Cabbage Palm, Chou Palmiste, Ju-Zhong, Palma Enana Americana, Palmier Nain, Palmier Scie, Sabal, Serenoa, and other names.
Saw palmetto blocks certain effects of certain hormones in the body and also has some anti-inflammatory actions.
Saw palmetto has been used in alternative medicine as a possibly effective aid in preventing complications from prostate surgery (such as blood loss or problems during surgery) and reducing the time spent in surgery and in the hospital after surgery.
Saw palmetto has been used to treat symptoms of enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH), such as increased night-time urination or decreased urinary flow. However, research has shown that saw palmetto may not be effective in treating this condition.
Other uses not proven with research have included treating sore throat, cough, cold symptoms, asthma, bronchitis, migraine headache, male-pattern baldness, chronic pelvic pain and prostate swelling...
