Saw Palmetto Berries

Western Bulk Herbs – Saw Palmetto Berries

Used as a tonic saw palmetto helps regain strength after illness. It also can be used to help people put on weight. Saw palmetto makes the bladder strong and improves urination causing toxins to be flushed out of the body. In cases of prostate infection, the berries gently stimulate urination, causing the infectious microorganisms to be “flushed out” with urine.

Research show saw palmetto can help with improving sex drive in men and may also enhance a woman’s breasts.

Saw palmetto carpets the wild forests of the land of flowers, Florida. While the whole plant has many uses, from tinder to shelter, the berries are useful in their own right for medicinal purposes.  Starting out as rows of white flowers, the berries mature from an orange-yellow color to an almost black hue. The palmetto has been used by the native population for food and materials for many years.

Try pairing the berries with damiana reproductive benefits. Pair with horsetail when dealing with an enlarged prostate.

Latin Name:
Serenoa repens

Common Names:
Palmetto scrub, Cabbage palm

Parts Used:
Berries, dried and cut or powdered.

Properties:
Diuretic, sedative, and tonic.

Traditional Uses:
Teas, tinctures, and capsules

Topical Uses / Applications:

Culinary Uses:
Not normally used in cooking.

Folk Lore:
American botanist John Lloyd saw the first effects of the saw palmetto on grazing animals and concluded the effects would carry over to people. It was widely used as a general health tonic in 1870’s and they found it could be used as an appetite stimulant.

Native Americans in the South used it for survival food and a general tonic for making a person feel good. French researchers isolated the specific compounds that works on the prostate to preserve male potency and it has been used to enlarge breasts in women and works well for hair loss.

Chemical Properties:
Beta-sitosterol, capric acid, ferulic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid.

Cautions:
GRAS: Generally Recognized as Safe. This herb can safely be consumed when used appropriately. There are extremely rare cases of stomach problems.

*Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Resources:
PDR for Herbal Medicines, 2000. Medical Economics Company, Montvale, New Jersey.
The New Holistic Herbal. David Hoffmann, 1990. Barnes and Noble Books, New York.
A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve, (Dover Publications, New York, 1971)
Major Herbs of Ayurvedic.Compiled by Dahur Research Foundation and Dahur Ayurvet Limited, Ghaziabad, India., 2002. Churchill Livingstone, London, England.
Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition, Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble, 1986. Eastland Press, Seattle, WA.