{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"pygeum","kind":"supplement","name":"pygeum","aliases":["Prunus africana","African plum bark"],"brands_sg":["NOW Foods","Nutricost","Vitacost","Solaray","Oregon's Wild Harvest"],"class":"botanical","tags":["mens-health"],"use_for":"urinary symptoms of bph — 18 short trials, 1,562 men","use_after":null,"use_duration":"trials averaged 64 days; the longest ran 122 days","take_with":null,"pros":["6 placebo trials: −0.8 sd on symptoms and flow","twice as likely to report overall improvement","side effects were mild and similar to placebo"],"cons":["only 1 of 18 trials reported allocation concealment","no head-to-head trial vs alpha-blockers or 5-aris","short trials, varied preparations — hard to pool"],"dose_note":"the pooled trials averaged 64 days (range 30–122) and used a variety of phytotherapeutic preparations rather than one standard extract; the review abstracts do not report a single daily dose","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"mg","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"adult men","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["every pooled trial enrolled men with symptomatic bph — a diagnosis, not a self-screen","the longest trial ran 122 days, so nothing longer-term was measured","preparations differed between trials — results may not transfer between products"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"pygeum_cochrane2002","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC7032619","label":"Pygeum africanum for benign prostatic hyperplasia (Wilt et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2002, CD001044)","quote":"A total of 18 randomized controlled trials involving 1562 men met inclusion criteria and were analyzed … The mean study duration was 64 days (range, 30-122 days)","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"pygeum_cochrane2002_quality","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC7032619","label":"Pygeum africanum for benign prostatic hyperplasia (Wilt et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2002, CD001044)","quote":"Only one of the studies reported a method of treatment allocation concealment, though 17 were double-blinded. There were no studies comparing Pygeum africanum to standard pharmacologic interventions such as alpha-adrenergic blockers or 5-alpha reductase inhibitors","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"pygeum_ishani2000_effect","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/11099686","label":"Pygeum africanum for the treatment of patients with BPH: a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis (Ishani et al., Am J Med 2000)","quote":"Compared with placebo in 6 studies, P. africanum provided a moderately large improvement in the combined outcome of urologic symptoms and flow measures … (-0.8 SD [95% CI: -1.4 to -0.3])","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"pygeum_ishani2000_outcomes","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/11099686","label":"Pygeum africanum for the treatment of patients with BPH: a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis (Ishani et al., Am J Med 2000)","quote":"Men were more than twice as likely to report an improvement in overall symptoms (risk ratio = 2.1) … Nocturia was reduced by 19% and residual urine volume by 24%; peak urine flow was increased by 23%","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"pygeum_ishani2000_ae","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/11099686","label":"Pygeum africanum for the treatment of patients with BPH: a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis (Ishani et al., Am J Med 2000)","quote":"Adverse effects due to P. africanum were mild and similar to placebo. The overall dropout rate was 12% and was similar for P. africanum (13%), placebo (11%), and other controls (8%)","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"pygeum_ishani2000_limits","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/11099686","label":"Pygeum africanum for the treatment of patients with BPH: a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis (Ishani et al., Am J Med 2000)","quote":"The literature on P. africanum … is limited by the short duration of studies and the variability in study design, the use of phytotherapeutic preparations","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_prohibited_2025","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev 001 (Oct 2025)","quote":"85. Prunus armeniaca, Amygdalus armeniaca, Armeniaca vulgaris — Prohibited in HS and TM [that row is apricot; Prunus africana / pygeum itself is not listed in Annex A or B]","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/pygeum","label":"iHerb Singapore — Pygeum category (default order)","quote":"NOW Foods, Pygeum & Saw Palmetto With Pumpkin Seed Oil … Nutricost, Pygeum, 120 Capsules … Vitacost, Pygeum & Plant Sterols … Solaray, Vital Extracts, Pygeum, 50 mg … Oregon's Wild Harvest, Saw Palmetto Pygeum","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-29T16:16:29.426925+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}