NEW YORK – A popular herbal pill used by millions of men doesn’t reduce the frequent urge to urinate or other annoying symptoms of an enlarged prostate, a new study concludes.
The yearlong research found that the plant extract saw palmetto was no more effective than dummy capsules in easing symptoms for the 225 men tested. The results contrast with previous research that showed the extract helped.
“This certainly sheds some doubt on whether the product’s effective, and suggests that it might not work,” said the lead researcher, Dr. Stephen Bent of the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
More than 2 million American men take the herb to treat enlarged prostate, and it is widely used in Europe, the researchers said. Until their results are confirmed by further studies, men who take saw palmetto and feel it works should probably keep using it, Bent said.
The findings are published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder. Benign enlargement is a common condition as men age and causes problems with urination. This condition has nothing to do with prostate cancer.
The saw palmetto is a small palm native to the southeastern United States. The extract comes from its olive-size berries and is sold over-the-counter in capsule form.
It is the third highest-selling herbal dietary supplement in the U.S., after garlic and echinacea, according to the American Botanical Council. Unlike prescription drugs, dietary supplements do not need government approval.
Bent said he and his colleagues picked saw palmetto to study because of its widespread use and positive findings from previous studies, which were smaller and shorter than his federally funded research. Some of his colleagues have received fees or support from drug makers.
The new study recruited men over 49 with enlarged prostates who had moderate to severe symptoms. They took 160 milligrams of saw palmetto twice a day, or similar-looking dummy capsules. At each visit, they filled out a symptom survey and their urine flow was measured.
After a year, there was no significant difference between the groups in symptom changes or other measures, the researchers reported.
A larger study of herbal remedies, including saw palmetto, is in the final planning stages.
In a journal editorial, Drs. Robert DiPaola and Ronald Morton at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey note that only one formula of saw palmetto was tested, and suggest that other preparations or doses might work.
“What I tell men is that they may not do themselves any harm by taking it. It’s just that I’m not certain they’re going to do themselves any good taking it,” Morton said.
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