The herb is widely used in Europe, where half of German urologists prefer prescribing plant-based extracts to synthetic drugs. Saw palmetto appears to have efficacy similar to that of medications like finasteride, but it is better tolerated and less expensive.
The medicinal element of saw palmetto is taken from the partially dried ripe fruit of the American dwarf palm tree, which is indigenous to the coastal regions of the southern United States, from the Carolinas and Florida to California.
Historically, Native Americans were known to use the fruit of saw palmetto to treat urinary and reproductive system problems.
Saw palmetto and benign prostatic hyperplasia
