Saw Palmetto Versus Drugs: As Good but Safer

You already knew that saw palmetto is at least as good as the drugs while being safer for men with enlarged prostate, but more evidence is always good.

Yet another study has proven that saw palmetto berry is at least as effective as the leading drugs for benign prostatic hyperplasia while being safer.

This study compared saw palmetto berry extract to the drug tamsulosin. Everyone in the study was 40 or over and had moderate to severe symptoms. Half were given the drug, and half were given 160mg of saw palmetto extract twice a day.

There was no significant difference in improvement on the International Prostate Symptom Score with scores improving by 5 points on the tamsulosin and by 4.5 points on the saw palmetto. There was also no significant difference in improvement in quality of life with scores improving by 2.3 points on the drug and 2.2 points on the herb. For men with more severe symptoms scores improved by 7.9 points on saw palmetto and 7.8 points on tamsulosin.

Though the two treatments were equally effective, they were not equally safe. Here the saw palmetto had a significant advantage. While 14.7% of the tamsulosin group had at least one adverse effect, only 2.1% of the saw palmetto berry group did. Loss of ejaculation was experienced by 8.5% of men on tamsulosin but by none on saw palmetto and reduced ejaculatory volume was experienced by 5.1% of the tamsulosin group but only 0.5% of the saw palmetto group. 2% of the men in the tamsulosin group, but none of the men in the saw palmetto group, experienced orthostatic hypotension, in which blood pressure suddenly drops when you stand up.

This study once again shows that saw palmetto is as effective as drugs while being safer for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Sci Rep. September 29, 2021;11(1):19401

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