Saw palmetto supplements are one of the most commonly consumed supplements by men with
prostate cancer and/or
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Some studies have found significant improvements in BPH and
lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) with
saw palmetto supplementation, whereas others found no benefits. The variation in the efficacy in these trials may be a result of differences in the putative active components,
fatty acids and
phytosterols, of the
saw palmetto supplements. To this end, we quantified the major
fatty acids (laurate,
myristate,
palmitate,
stearate,
oleate,
linoleate) and
phytosterols (
campesterol,
stigmasterol, β-
sitosterol) in 20 commercially available
saw palmetto supplements using GC-FID and GC-MS, respectively. Samples were classified into liquids, powders, dried berries, and tinctures. Liquid
saw palmetto supplements contained significantly higher (p < 0.05) concentrations of total
fatty acids (908.5 mg/g), individual
fatty acids, total
phytosterols (2.04 mg/g), and individual
phytosterols, than the other supplement categories. Powders contained significantly higher (p < 0.05) concentrations of total
fatty acids than tinctures, which contain negligible amounts of
fatty acids (46.3 mg/g) and
phytosterols (0.10 mg/g). Our findings suggest that liquid
saw palmetto supplements may be the best choice for individuals who want to take a
saw palmetto supplement with the highest concentrations of both
fatty acids and
phytosterols.