Definition. - The partially dried ripe fruit of Serona serrulata, commonly known as saw palmetto.

Very little is known concerning the active principles of saw palmetto. A volatile oil, a fixed oil, a fat, an alkaloid, a resin, and glucose have been isolated.

Dose. - Average dose: 15 grains (1 Gm.), U. S. P.

Physiological Action. - The oil of saw palmetto is thought to act in a manner similar to the oils of sandal, copaiba, etc.

Therapeutics. - It is useful in the chronic stages of gleet and in the cystitis of hypertrophied prostate.