Benefits of Saw Palmetto Extract

The saw palmetto extract, obtained from the fruits of saw palmetto, are used in many different medications including the traditional, eclectic and alternative medicines. The fruits of the saw palmetto have a high content of phytosterols and fatty acids. The extract is commonly used for the treatment of problems related to the urinary tract.

The Saw Palmetto

It is a small scrubby palm tree, which grows to the height of 2-4 m. It is mostly found in the coastal areas of southeastern U.S. Along with the Gulf Coastal and Atlantic plains, the palm is also found in Arkansas. It grows slowly, and can live for more than 500 years.

Benefits of Saw Palmetto Extract

As stated above, the saw palmetto extract is used in traditional, alternative and eclectic medicines. The saw palmetto extract is very beneficial, since it is used in the treatment of various diseases.

Traditional Medicines
If we talk about traditional medicines, the extract was used by Native Americans to treat diseases of the reproductive system. They also used the saw palmetto extract to deal with urinary diseases. The people from the Maya civilization used it as a tonic. The territory of the Mayans stretched from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras to the central parts of Mexico. The berry extract of the saw palmetto was used as an expectorant, by the Seminole people. The Seminoles who come from Florida also prepared antiseptics from the extract.

Eclectic Medicines
It is a branch of medicine which makes use of conventional remedies, physical therapies as well as various botanical remedies for the treatment of diseases. H.W. Felter, a medical practitioner studied the different uses of saw palmetto extract in treatment of diseases. He discovered that the extract not only treated the urological disorders, but also acted as a nerve sedative and a tonic for the body. Even before Mr. Felter's recommendations, the extract was successfully used for the treatment of asthenia and the diseases of urinary tract. Asthenia is a state of loss of physical strength or weakness.

The King's American Dispensatory, is book that contains information about different herbs used for medications in the United States. It was written by John Uri Llyod, a famous eclectic pharmacist from the US, co-authored by Harvey Wickes Felter, a physician. The book describes the benefits of saw palmetto extract in the following manner.

"It is also an expectorant, and controls irritation of mucous tissues. It has proved useful in irritative cough, chronic bronchial coughs, whooping-cough, laryngitis, acute and chronic, acute catarrh, asthma, tubercular laryngitis, and in the cough of phthisis pulmonalis. Upon the digestive organs it acts kindly, improving the appetite, digestion, and assimilation. However, its most pronounced effects appear to be those exerted upon the urino-genital tracts of both male and female, and upon all the organs concerned in reproduction. It is said to enlarge wasted organs, as the breasts, ovaries, and testicles, while the paradoxical claim is also made that it reduces hypertrophy of the prostate. Possibly this may be explained by claiming that it tends toward the production of a normal condition, reducing parts when unhealthily enlarged, and increasing them when atrophied."

Alternative Medicines
The saw palmetto extract is also used in the treatment of Benign prostatic hyperplasia. In this disease, the prostrate gland in men, especially older and middle-aged men, enlarges. The further complications might result into the obstruction of urethra. The obstruction interferes with the flow of urine. Although the earlier treatment results exhibited improvement in the flow of urine, the recent studies have termed the extract nothing more than a pacifier.

The saw palmetto extract is also used to treat 'male pattern baldness', known as Androgenic alopecia in medical terms, a hair loss problem common in both men and women.

The saw palmetto extract is beneficial for the treatment of many diseases. Its ability to treat a large number of diseases makes it a wonderful medicine.