Dietary Supplements for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: An Overview of Systematic Reviews
Keywords:
Saw palmetto, beta-sitosterol, pygeum africanum, phytotherapy, benign prostatic hyperplasia, BPH 2.Abstract
Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are often caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a common condition in older men that has a detrimental impact on quality of life. Even though conventional medical procedures and medications work well, they frequently have negative side effects. A growing number of people are interested in using dietary supplements, especially nutraceuticals and phytotherapeutics, as an alternative or complementary treatment for the symptoms of BPH.
Objective: The purpose of this overview was to compile data from systematic reviews about the safety and effectiveness of dietary supplements in the treatment of BPH.
Methods: To find systematic reviews published in English up to 2025, a thorough literature search was carried out across PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Reviews that qualified evaluated dietary supplements in BPH-afflicted men. Information about clinical results, reported adverse events, supplement types, and study characteristics was extracted. The AMSTAR 2 tool was used to assess the included reviews' methodological quality.
Results: The analysis comprised 23 primary studies and systematic reviews. Supplements like beta-sitosterol, pygeum africanum, pumpkin seeds, Serenoa repens (saw palmetto), and different multi-herbal formulations were assessed in these studies. There was evidence that saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol may offer slight improvements in lower urinary tract symptoms and urine flow rates, despite the mixed results. Pygeum africanum and pumpkin seeds also demonstrated possible advantages with few negative effects. With significant variation in study design, supplement formulations, and dosage schedules, the overall level of evidence certainty varied from low to moderate.
Conclusion: In conclusion, dietary supplements are generally well-tolerated and may offer men with BPH some degree of symptom relief. Firm recommendations are, however, constrained by methodological flaws, a lack of high-quality data, and variations in efficacy. Standardized clinical guidelines for supplement use in BPH require carefully planned randomized controlled trials.
Categories: Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Urology, Men's Health, and Nutraceuticals
