Saw Palmetto exerts anti-estrogenic activity, increases urinary fow rate; decreases residual urine; decreases painful urination; decreases nocturia; anti-infammatory activities by following possible mechanisms:

• Inhibits action of 5α-reductase, which catalyzes the metabolism of testosterone to DHT, due to the free fatty acid content of the fruit’s lipophilic extracts.
• Inhibits receptor binding of androgens.
• Inhibits noncompetitively human α 1-adrenoreceptors.
• Inhibits both the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways in vitro
• Inhibits growth factors in vitro
• Binds selectively to and increases apoptotic index for prostate cells