ABSTRACT
The management of lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of clinical symptomatic BPH remains somewhat controversial. Treatment options range from watchful waiting, for those patients wishing to delay any active therapy, to minimally invasive treatment, such as
transurethral needle ablation of the prostate
and
transurethral microwave therapy
, to surgical interventions in the form of
transurethral prostatectomy
or
open enucleation of the prostate
. Most patients present with difficulties in urination for which a variety of medical therapies are available, including synthetic
α
-reductase inhibitors
,
α
-blockers, and plant extracts (Boyle et al., 2000). Medicinal herbs, or phytotherapy, have been used extensively for benign prostatic hyperplasia
in Europe and are being used more commonly in the U.S. Sales of herbal medicine reached $4 billion in the U.S. in 1998, and sales of
saw palmetto extract
for treatment of symptoms attributable to benign prostatic hyperplasia exceeded $20 million, making it the seventh most commonly purchased medicinal herbal preparation.
