Saw palmetto is a palm (Arecaceae) indigenous to the southeastern United States of America (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina)

The fruits are eaten by an assortment of wild animals, livestock, and people. When labeled as saw palmetto, serenoa repens can be legally sold in the United States of America as an herbal dietary supplement. The fruits are most frequently taken to ameliorate benign prostate hyperplasia. Saw palmetto oil inhibits the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone by 5a-reductases. Benign prostate hyperplasia is associated with elevated concentrations of dihydrotestosterone. Clinical studies report few adverse events from serenoa repens consumption (mostly mild).

It has been reported that in two out of six tested commercially available samples of saw palmetto extract, the level of total fatty acids was found to be less than 20%, which clearly indicates product adulteration. It is obvious that the nutraceutical industry (especially the manufacturers of finished supplement forms) needs to have an ultimate strategy and supporting analytical methods to clearly identify adulterated (or counterfeit) saw palmetto extracts.

The commonly used identification methods include:

The ratio of the content of fatty Acids (Reference: USP)

The ratio of the concentration of lauric acid to the concentration of the respective fatty acids must be in the specified range. The ratio can even distinguish the saw palmetto oil prepared by solvent hexane or supercritical extraction with carbon dioxide.