Herb-drug interactions. Interactions between saw palmetto and prescription medications.
Patients over age 50 typically present with one chronic disease per decade. Each chronic disease typically requires long-term drug therapy, meaning most older patients require several drugs to maintain health. Simultaneously, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased in the United States in the last 20 years, reaching 36% in 2002; herbal medicine use accounts for approximately 22% of all CAM use. Older adults often add herbal medicines to prescription medications, yet do not always inform their physicians. The drug metabolizing enzyme systems process all compounds foreign to the body, including prescription and herbal medications. Therefore use of both medicinals simultaneously has a potential for adverse interactions. This review, which discusses saw palmetto, is the last in a series covering the documented interactions among the top 5 efficacious herbal medicines and prescription drugs.
Bressler
Rubin
R
University of Arizona Health Sciences Center and the Sarver Heart Center, Tucson, USA.
D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D028024:Serenoa
D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D010936:Plant Extracts; C040972:saw palmetto extract