Saw Palmetto Berries
Saw Palmetto Berries
- Allow 7 to 14 days
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Saw palmetto berries are the whole dried fruit of Serenoa repens, a low fan palm that grows in dense, spiny thickets. The berries are oily rather than sugary, with a rich olive-like smell that catches most people by surprise the first time they open the bag. They are bought almost entirely by herbalists and students who already know what they want to make.
Key Benefits
- Whole, not ground: the berry is oily, and oils go stale once milled. Whole fruit keeps far better, and you crush only what you need. If you would rather skip that step, we also stock Saw Palmetto Powder.
- Rich in fatty acids: unusually for a herb, the useful fraction is fat soluble, mostly fatty acids and plant sterols. That shapes how you prepare it.
- A long-standing men's herb: written up in detail by nineteenth century herbalists and still one of the best known berries in that corner of the herb cabinet.
- Wildcrafted: hand harvested from wild stands rather than farmed, in high summer heat.
- Distinctive aroma: rich, oily and olive-like, sometimes called soapy. Not unpleasant, just unexpected.
Because the good stuff is oily, water on its own will not pull much out, so a tincture is the usual route. Crush around 100g of berries, cover them with a high proof spirit such as vodka, seal the jar and leave it four to six weeks in a cool dark cupboard, giving it a shake every few days. Strain through cloth and bottle.
If you would rather drink it, crush a heaped teaspoon of berries, simmer in a cup of water for 15 minutes and strain. The result is mild and faintly oily. Nettle Root is the root most often simmered alongside it, and a slice of Ginger Root lifts the flavour considerably.
These are remarkably long lived plants. Individual palms can carry on for several hundred years, and some of the sprawling clonal patches have been dated in the thousands.
The saw in the name is the row of teeth along the leaf stalks, which will cut straight through gloves. The berries are still picked by hand, in the heat, which is honest work and not much fun.
The Eclectic physicians of the 1800s wrote pages on this berry, and it held a place in the official pharmacopoeias for decades before falling out of fashion and coming back again.
Saw palmetto acts on hormone activity, so it is not suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or alongside hormonal contraception or hormone replacement. Tell your doctor you are taking it if you are having a PSA test. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Consult a healthcare provider before use, especially if pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medication.
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