← The FormularyLong gamePygeum
Also known as African cherry / Prunus africanaOld bark. Real paperwork.
Pygeum has better paperwork than most botanicals in this aisle: eighteen randomised trials, a Cochrane review, and effects that are real but modest — about a fifth fewer night-time trips, about a quarter better flow. The part nobody prints is the standardisation. The trials used extract standardised to 13–14% sterols; PROSTATE's 200 mg is standardised to 3%, so it delivers roughly half the sterol content of a trial dose. That is not a trick — it is what a four-botanical maintenance stack is: several supporting ingredients at sensible amounts, not a clinical dose of any single one. If you want the trial dose, you want a single-ingredient pygeum capsule and a conversation with your doctor.
Bark extract from the African cherry tree — one of the oldest prostate botanicals in the European pharmacopoeia, prescribed in France for decades before it reached a shelf here.
The bark carries phytosterols — plant fats structurally close to cholesterol — which are studied for a calming effect on the inflammatory signalling in prostate tissue. The sterols are the working part, which is why the standardisation percentage on a label matters more than the milligram count next to it.
Used to support normal prostate and urinary wellness, particularly the part of it that happens at three in the morning.
Men doing genuine adult maintenance, who would rather think about this at forty than deal with it at sixty. If you already have symptoms — urgency, a weak stream, waking repeatedly — get assessed first. Botanicals are maintenance; symptoms are medicine.
Daily with food, as part of PROSTATE's four-botanical stack. European practice runs it in 6–8 week cycles; continuous daily use is the more common supplement pattern. Either way it is judged over months.
Nothing dramatic, and nothing quickly. The trial effects took six to eight weeks to separate from placebo, and they were improvements in degree, not resolutions. The point of maintenance is that nothing eventful happens.
Grade B. The 2002 Cochrane review pooled 18 randomised trials in 1,562 men and found meaningful improvement in urological symptoms against placebo — nocturia down about 19%, peak urine flow up about 23%. It does not shrink the prostate and it does not replace prescription treatment. Sustainability note: wild Prunus africana is a CITES-listed species; cultivated and certified bark is the responsible source.
Read the labelNot a treatment for any prostate condition. Mild stomach upset is the usual complaint. New or changing urinary symptoms are a doctor's appointment, not a supplement decision.
Evidence grades describe how well an ingredient is studied — A well-supported, C emerging — not a promise of results. Educational, not medical advice. Doses are typical ranges; follow the label on the product.