Phytotherapy in chronic prostatitis.

Chronic prostatitis is a very common condition that is poorly understood and has a significant impact on quality of life. Given the lack of proven efficacy of conventional therapies, such as antibiotics, it is not surprising that patients have turned with increasing frequency to phytotherapy and other alternative treatments. Although alternative therapies are plentiful, few have been subjected to scientific scrutiny and prospective controlled clinical trials. This review will cover phytotherapies commonly used in prostatitis patients and focus in detail on those with published data. These treatments include zinc, cernilton (bee pollen), quercetin, and saw palmetto. Although many of these therapies appear promising in small preliminary studies, phytotherapy requires the same scientific criteria for validation and acceptance as do conventional medical therapies.