title: A phytochemical comparison of saw palmetto products using gas chromatography and (1) H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolomic profiling.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preparations containing saw palmetto berries are used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). There are many products on the market, and relatively little is known about their chemical variability and specifically the composition and quality of different saw palmetto products notwithstanding that in 2000, an international consultation paper from the major urological associations from the five continents on treatments for BPH demanded further research on this topic. Here, we compare two analytical approaches and characterise 57 different saw palmetto products.
  
  
  METHODS
  An established method - gas chromatography - was used for the quantification of nine fatty acids, while a novel approach of metabolomic profiling using (1) H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used as a fingerprinting tool to assess the overall composition of the extracts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The phytochemical analysis determining the fatty acids showed a high level of heterogeneity of the different products in the total amount and of nine single fatty acids. A robust and reproducible (1) H NMR spectroscopy method was established, and the results showed that it was possible to statistically differentiate between saw palmetto products that had been extracted under different conditions but not between products that used a similar extraction method. Principal component analysis was able to determine those products that had significantly different metabolites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The metabolomic approach developed offers novel opportunities for quality control along the value chain of saw palmetto and needs to be followed further, as with this method, the complexity of a herbal extract can be better assessed than with the analysis of a single group of constituents.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Booker
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suter
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krnjic
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Strassel
authors.forename: Mire
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zloh
authors.forename: Mazlina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Said
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heinrich
mesh_terms: D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D028024:Serenoa / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D010936:Plant Extracts; C040972:saw palmetto extract
keywords: 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; fatty acids; gas chromatography; metabolomics; saw palmetto