HOW DOES SAW PALMETTO WORK: BLOCKING THE EFFECT OF ESTROGEN ON PROSTATE TISSUE
There are quite a number of receptors within the prostate gland for androgens, such as testosterone, and likewise quite a number for estrogens. Scientists are starting to suspect that excessive amounts of estrogens influence the growth of the prostate gland. There is at least one study that found SP to have antiestrogenic abilities within prostate tissue.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was done with 35 patients with BPH who had never before been treated with any medicines. Eighteen of these patients received 160 mg SP extract a day for 3 months and were compared to 17 others who received placebo pills. At the end of the study, prostatic tissue was surgically removed and evaluated for hormone receptors. SP extract was able to inhibit not only androgen receptors, but also estrogen receptors. The researchers conclude, "This drug, therefore, appears to display an inhibitory effect both on androgen receptors and estrogen receptors, probably because it is composed by several fractions, one of which with anti-androgenic action and another with anti-estrogenic action.... The inhibition of the estrogen action may be applied to the treatment of BPH, since there is increasing evidence that the primary role of androgens in the genesis of the disease may be conditioned by other factors, one of these being estrogens.. . . So, one may assume that in the medical treatment of human BPH, inhibition of the estrogen action potentiates [enhances] the effects of the anti-androgens."
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