|
|
| Saw Palmetto
(Serenoa repens) |
|
Part Used: Berry
|
| Uses: General tonic, strengthen
constitution, to improve virility, potency & prostate function,
increase sex drive & performance, counters erection & ejaculation
problems, aphrodisiac, increase in muscle size & strength, increases
breast size. |
| |
|
Research: Contemporary research has
shown that it reduces the size of a prostate swollen with age. Its
action seems to be based on the fact it increases available testosterone
significantly. Doctors found the fruit to be a nutritive tonic,
an effective diuretic, and a mild sedative. It has been recommended
for all wasting diseases, and was said to have a marked effect on
the glandular systems. Modern herbalists also use berries on head
colds and all their accompanying symptoms.
Body builders use the berry to help
put on muscle.Unlike the chemical steroids saw palmetto berries
do not damage sexual function. Also used them to treat wasting conditions,
to rejuvenate an old or ill body & to aid recovery from illness.
|
| History of use The
Seminole Indians apparently ground the berries into a nutritious flour.
Used plant to enlarge breasts and enehance sexual
desire. They are also said to have used an infusion for stomachache
and dysentery. The inner bark of the trunk was used as a pack for
snakebites, bug bites, and skin ulcers. Dried fruits were believed
useful for indigestion, respiratory infections, and catarrhal irritation. |
| Early settlers saw their animals would lean
over the fences to get at the berries of this palm. Animals that ate
the black fruit were healthier than those that did not. Most notably,
it had an ability to increase flesh rapidly. |
|
| Habitat:
South eastern coast of the USA forming scrub for hundreds of miles
from Georgia to Florida. Growing no more than a few feet high, the
fan-shaped, glaucous leaves are so dense that a stand of these palms
is virtually impossible for human beings to pass through. |
|
