ABC Debuts Saw Palmetto Educational Video on HerbTV

The American Botanical Council (ABC) has debuted a new educational video, “Saw Palmetto: Safe and Effective Herb for Prostate and Men’s Urinary Health,” on its YouTube channel, HerbTV.

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a small palm tree native to the Southeastern U.S. the fruits have a history of traditional use as both food and medicine. Modern scientific research, including human clinical studies, has found that the berry extract can support lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

The new video provides videography and graphics, along with commentary from experts in integrative medicine, academia, and botanical science. It covers information about its history of use, research, cultivation, processing, and consumer buying tips.

The HerbTV video was made possible through an educational grant from Valensa International, an ABC Sponsor Member and manufacturer of saw palmetto extracts from Eustis, Florida.

“Enlarged prostates and the associated symptoms impact quality of life for many middle-aged and older men,” said Mark Blumenthal, ABC founder and executive director. “For many years, consumers around the world have been relying on saw palmetto to help alleviate the effects associated with BPH. While some saw palmetto products have been clinically demonstrated to assist urinary flow, others on the market are ineffective due to excessive dilution or, in some cases, the use of lower-cost, adulterated, fraudulent ingredients. For this video, ABC is pleased to have partnered with Valensa International, an ingredient supplier that has invested in sustainable harvesting, research, and manufacturing to produce authentic, clinically supported, standardized saw palmetto berry extract with an all-important bioactive free fatty acid profile. We hope this new saw palmetto video provides viewers with a solid understanding of how and why authentic quality saw palmetto products can provide safe and beneficial relief for men with lower urinary tract symptoms.”

“Over 14 million men in the United States experience clinically bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms, including urinary frequency, urgency, reduced flow, and incomplete bladder emptying, that significantly impact quality of life,” said Umasudhan Palaniswamy, CEO and president of Valensa International. “Prostate enlargement affects 50–60% of men in their sixties and up to 80% of those in their eighties, contributing to more than $4 billion in direct health care costs annually, according to a 2023 Mayo Clinic analysis. A lipidosterolic extract of saw palmetto that meets the US Pharmacopeia (USP) monograph, delivering a clinically effective dose of 320 mg with 85%–95% total fatty acids,  has been shown to significantly improve quality of life in men and enhance men’s urinary health. Valensa’s USPlus lipidosterolic extract of saw palmetto is produced in Florida from sustainably sourced berries using clean CO₂ extraction and is independently verified by USP.”

Some dietary supplements claiming to contain saw palmetto actually contain lower-cost adulterated ingredients with no health benefits, cautioned Stefan Gafner, PhD, chief science officer of ABC, which have been documented by the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP). “Over the past 14 years, BAPP has published extensively peer-reviewed and authoritative technical documents that provide industry quality control and regulatory experts proper guidance on identifying and preventing the sale of fraudulent ingredients, including in saw palmetto products.”

The 13-minute video is an extension of ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb program, and is the second following a video covering milk thistle.