Does Saw Palmetto help BPH?

A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine (v 354, p 557, 2006) presents results of a study concerning the effectiveness of Saw Palmetto on Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). Evidently, 2 million men in the United States use Saw Palmetto to alleviate symptoms of prostate enlargement that impact their urinary flow.

In a double-blind trial (the most reliable type of trial), 225 men were assigned at random either to a treatment of 160 mg saw palmetto extract twice a day, or to a placebo. The duration of the study was one year. The effectiveness was judged both by an index of symptoms (AUASI index) and maximal urinary flow. The study also determined changes in prostate size, residual urinary volume after voiding, quality of life, and more.

The study concluded that saw palmetto is no better than a placebo. i.e., within a Margin of Error between 0.93 and 1.01, saw palmetto does not help BPH symptoms.