Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties | Biochemical Information
Uses | Formulas or Dosages | How Sold | Warning | Resource Links | Bibliography
Scientific Names
- Serenoa serrulata L.
- Palm family
Common Names
- Dwarf palmetto
- Pan palm
Parts Usually Used
Berries
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Description of Plant(s) and
Culture
Saw palmetto is a low, shrubby plant grows to 6 feet; the trunk or rootstock remains below the ground, producing palmate, green to white-coated leaves on saw-toothed petioles. Has horizontal creeping stems above ground. Leaves fanlike, with sword-shaped leaf blades radiating from a central point. Flowers are whitish green, with 3-5 petals; May to July. The olive-like, dark-purple to black fleshy berries, 1 inch long, surrounding one large seed, grow in bunches or clusters, ripening from October to December.
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Where Found
Found growing in dense stands along the Atlantic coast in Georgia and Florida. Low pine woods, savannas, thickets. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida to Alabama, Mississippi.
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Medicinal Properties
Antiseptic, cardiac, diuretic, expectorant, sedative, tonic
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Biochemical Information
Essential oil, fatty oil, with capric, caprylic and lauric acids, fatty acids, carotene, tannin, sitosterol invert sugar, estrogenic substance.
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Uses
The berries are particularly useful for conditions associated with colds, hayfever, asthma, and bronchitis. Catarrhal problems and mucous congestion respond to a tea made from the dried berries. The tea has also been recommended as a general tonic to build strength during convalescence from illness. Used for colds, coughs, inflammations, coughs, irritated mucous membranes, tickling feeling in the throat, migraine. A suppository of the powdered fruits in cocoa butter was used as a uterine and vaginal tonic. Saw palmetto is considered by some to have aphrodisiac powers. Said to improve prostate health (combined with echinacea). Used to treat “honeymoon cystitis” in females. Although the FDA does not recognize this herb as an effective drug, in Germany it is sold over-the-counter as a treatment for benign prostate problems. Benign prostate enlargement can cause excessive urination in men, especially annoying at night.
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Formulas or Dosages
Infusion: steep 1 tsp. dried berries in 1 cup water. Take 1-2 cups a day.
Tincture: a dose is from 30-60 drops.
Extract: mix 30 to 60 drops in liquid per day.
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How Sold
Fruit extracts, capsules, tablets, tincture.
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Warning
Any man experiencing pain or swelling of the prostate, or has difficulty urinating, or passes any blood in the urine, should be examined by a medical physician ASAP.
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Resource Links
LiveStrong.com: About Saw Palmetto for Women
Medicinal Herb Info Blog: Organically Grown Saw Palmetto
University of Maryland Medical Center: Saw Palmetto
American Cancer Society: Saw Palmetto
American Academy of Family Physicians: Saw Palmetto
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Saw Palmetto
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Saw Palmetto
Bibliography
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants
The Complete Medicinal Herbal
Back to Eden
Indian Herbalogy of North America
Earl Mindell’s Herb Bible
Planetary Herbology
American Folk Medicine
The Herb Book
Webster’s New World Dictionary
The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine
A Useful Guide to Herbal Health Care
