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Saw palmetto

Supplement botanical men's health
Aka: Serenoa repens
Brands seen in Singapore: California Gold Nutrition, NOW Foods, Micro Ingredients, Swanson Vitamins, Life Extension
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Cochrane 2023: little to no benefit for urinary symptoms
Studied for
Trials ran 3–6 months, and 12–17 months for the long arm
Pros & cons
Pros
  • NCCIH: well tolerated, studied safely for up to 3 years
  • Adverse events no higher than placebo across 12 trials
  • 27 placebo-controlled trials, 4,656 men — a big base
Cons
  • Cochrane: little to no change in symptom score (ipss)
  • No quality-of-life gain at 3–6 or at 12–17 months
  • Two NIH trials, standard and triple dose: no benefit
Sources
  1. NCCIH — Saw Palmetto (what the science says) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “A 2023 review of 27 studies on saw palmetto in men with BPH found that this herb, when administered alone, provides little or no benefit for BPH symptoms”
  2. NCCIH — Saw Palmetto (NIH-funded trials and doses tested) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “two NIH-funded trials tested saw palmetto alone at standard and triple doses … saw palmetto did not improve BPH symptoms … increasing doses of saw palmetto, up to three times the usual dose”
  3. NCCIH — Saw Palmetto (safety and side effects) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Saw palmetto is well tolerated. It has been used safely in research studies for up to 3 years … Adverse effects are mild and infrequent; they may include digestive symptoms, dizziness, and headache”
  4. NCCIH — Saw Palmetto (pregnancy and breastfeeding) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Saw palmetto may be unsafe for use during pregnancy or while breastfeeding”
  5. NCCIH — Saw Palmetto (medicines) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “If you take any type of medicine, talk with your health care provider before using any herbal product; some herbs and medicines interact in harmful ways”
  6. Serenoa repens for lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic enlargement (Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023, CD001423.pub4) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “We included 27 studies … involving a total of 4656 participants … Serenoa repens results in little to no difference in urologic symptoms at short-term follow-up (3 to 6 months … MD -0.90 … high-certainty evidence)”
  7. Cochrane 2023 — quality of life and long-term follow-up · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “little to no difference in the quality of life at short-term follow-up (3 to 6 months) … little to no difference in urologic symptoms … at long-term follow-up (12 to 17 months) … high-certainty evidence”
  8. Cochrane 2023 — adverse events · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Serenoa repens probably results in little to no difference in adverse events (1 to 17 months; risk ratio (RR) 1.01, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.31; I2 = 18%; 12 studies, 2399 participants; moderate-certainty evidence)”
  9. Cochrane 2023 — who was studied and who funded the trials · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Most studies included men aged > 50 (mean age range 52 to 68) with moderate urologic symptoms (International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS] range 8 to 19). Ten studies were funded by the pharmaceutical industry”
  10. Cochrane 2023 — authors' conclusions · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Serenoa repens alone provides little to no benefits for men with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic enlargement. There is more uncertainty about the role of Serenoa repens in combination with other phytotherapeutic agents”
  11. HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev 001 (Oct 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list [saw palmetto / Serenoa repens not listed in Annex A or B]”
  12. iHerb Singapore — Saw Palmetto category (default order) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “California Gold Nutrition, Active Men's Multivitamin with … Maca, Saw Palmetto … NOW Foods, Saw Palmetto Extract, 90 Veggie Softgels … Micro Ingredients, Pumpkin Seed Oil … Swanson Vitamins, Full Spectrum® Saw Palmetto, 540 mg … Life Extension … PalmettoGuard®”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.