Fatty Acid Analysis of Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) and Pygeum (Prunus africanum) using GC-MS

Abstract

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a native plant of North America and is most commonly found in Florida. Pygeum (Prunus africanum) is an evergreen tree native to South Africa. Both berry raw material and extracts of saw palmetto and pygeum are found in dietary supplements and are most commonly used to treat symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) [1,2]. Saw palmetto and pygeum are rich in fatty acids, and the fatty acid composition of both plants is very similar. The goal of this study was to develop a gas chromatography – mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) method that could be used to chemically distinguish the two species. Briefly, 18 different dietary supplements containing either saw palmetto or pygeum or saw palmetto and pygeum (purchased over-the-counter from different vendors) were extracted in a liquid-liquid extraction using 10ml of methylene chloride. Prior to analysis, each sample was derivatized and analyzed for fatty acid composition. The major fatty acid components of saw palmetto are lauric acid (1), oleic acid (2), and myristic acid (3), and of pygeum are palmitic acid (4), linoleic acid (5), and oleic acid (2). Figures 1 & 2, demonstrate the chromatographic similarities and differences between the saw palmetto, and the pygeum samples. The method proposed here is useful for chemical fingerprint analysis and also for quality control of dietary supplements claiming to contain pygeum or saw palmetto using GC-MS analysis.