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Pygeum
Pygeum africanum a herb derived from
the bark of the African evergreen,which inhibits the enzyme
5-alpha-reductase, is widely used in Europe to prevent and treat
prostate problems and to prevent and treat male pattern baldness.
While saw palmetto extract is the far better known herbal medication
to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate, pygeum may in many cases
be superior for the treatment of the condition. Benign prostatic
hyperplasia or benign prostatic hypertrophy is a non-cancerous
tissue growth of the prostate. Among the early symptoms of the
condition are prolonged dribbling after urination, as well as a
decrease in the strength of the urinary stream. The enlarged
prostate will also interfere with ejaculatory power.
Practically all men experience an enlargement of
the prostate as they age. Early symptoms usually set in after the
age of 40. As the enlargement of the prostate gets worse, the most
disturbing symptom is a persistent difficulty to pass water. This
can become very uncomfortable and painful.
Next on the scene arrived Proscar, an oral
medication with the generic name finasteride. Proscar has been
proven to often shrink an enlarged prostate. It does so by
interrupting some hormonal processes that are at the root of benign
prostate hyperblasia, the conversion of testosterone into
dihydrotestosterone.
The conversion of testosterone into
dihydrotestosterone is effected by the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.
Proscar inhibits 5-alpha reductase and thereby the conversion of
testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, thus interrupting the chain
that leads to cell growth in the prostate. But even though nerves
are not cut as they often are in the case of surgery, all is not
well at the sex front for those on Proscar. Studies have proven what
many men experienced when on Proscar: erections are hard to achieve
and maintain.
There are three herbal preparations that have
classically been used to facilitate urinary flow in older men: saw
palmetto, nettle root, and pygeum africanum. Since the beginning of
the nineties, when in the US, restrictions on the promotion and
sales of herbal medications were lifted, saw palmetto and, to a
lesser extent, the other two herbals have been touted as a cheaper
and healthier alternative to Proscar that works just as well. And,
most of all, the three herbal preparations are claimed NOT to
interfere with sexual function (One US company marketing saw
palmetto even promoted saw palmetto as the "sex pill of the
nineties".)
The best studied among the three herbals is saw
palmetto. There is no doubt that saw palmetto works. It does so in
pretty much the same manner as Proscar: by inhibiting the enzyme
5-alpha reductase. Unfortunately, saw palmetto is comparable to
Proscar in another aspect. Personal experience suggests that saw
palmetto also interferes with the erectile function. There will just
be less sensation in the male organ, comparable to what happens to
the sensation of one's legs if one sits for a long time.
Pygeum africanum and nettle root are less studied.
While both will also result in making passing urine easier for men
with enlarged prostates, most probably by effecting a reduction of
the size of the gland, the mechanism by which this happens is not
precisely known.
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