Saw palmetto, Sabal serrulata, commonly called simply sabal, is a fan palm native to the south east United States of America, especially in Florida.

It was a traditional part of the diet of the Native American Seminole people, who dried it for use in their staple diet. The early settlers found it to be useful in treating cattle with urinary problems

In 1907, a saw palmetto drying facility was established in Florida and by the early 1950s, saw palmetto was recognized by drug companies as being a useful treatment for BHP, benign prostate hyperplasia, a condition common in older men as their prostate swells in size with age restricting their urinary flow.

It was subsequently found to be a useful preventative for hair loss by interrupting hormonal signals thereby reducing the uptake by the hair follicles of a the chemical DHT (dyhydrotestosterone) which is known to convert testosterone into a chemical that can lead to hair loss.

In this application saw palmetto is administered both topically and orally. These treatments can complement each other by reducing DHT both locally on the scalp and also throughout the body resulting in enhanced hair growth

In the early stages of hair loss this natural approach to treating baldness is often all that is needed. Currently, a number of natural products are available on the market that combine herbal and nutritional hair growth ingredients that, in combination, can be very effective and are clinically proven to not only halt hair loss but also to encourage re-growth.

Used in combination with saw palmetto are herbs such as nettle, which is also used for BPH, and other nutrients such as zinc, iron, magnesium, biotin, and vitamin B12.

Saw palmetto is currently a popular and effective treatment in the USA for both baldness and enlarged prostate. The herb is well tolerated and is low in toxicity. For the early stages of male baldness saw palmetto appears to be a relatively safer, and less expensive, treatment than resort to pharmaceutical drugs.

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