Compare
Prostacor and the other kinds of prostate supplement
Prostate supplements come in three kinds: a blend, a single herb and a single sterol. A fourth option is not a supplement at all.
By situation
Best pick for each kind of buyer
Best pick for five ingredients in one capsule
One capsule carries saw palmetto, plant sterols, stinging nettle, pumpkin seed and lycopene in a 351 mg blend, at $1.33 a capsule.
Best pick for a printed dose
A single-ingredient saw palmetto capsule
A product with 1 dietary ingredient prints its weight per serving. A blend prints one figure for everything in it.
Best pick for symptoms that worry you
A doctor's visit
No capsule comes first here. The federal urology institute lists 1 symptom as urgent: if you cannot urinate at all, get medical help right away.
Type against type
Prostacor against the alternatives
| Type | What you get | What a federal or published source says | Better choice when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prostacor (five-ingredient blend) | 5 plant ingredients in 1 capsule, 351 mg in all | "Definite conclusions could not be reached about the effects of combinations of herbs that include saw palmetto." National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH) | Better choice when you want several plant ingredients without buying each one |
| Saw palmetto alone | 1 herb with its weight per serving in print | "We know enough to conclude that saw palmetto is probably not helpful for this purpose." National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH) | Better choice when you want to know the dose of the one herb you take |
| Beta-sitosterol alone | 1 plant sterol with its weight per serving in print | "Their long term effectiveness, safety and ability to prevent BPH complications are not known." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | Better choice when you and your doctor have settled on a sterol and want the amount in print |
| A doctor's visit | An examination, a diagnosis and, where needed, a prescription | "If you can't urinate at all, you should get medical help right away." National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH) | Better choice when you have symptoms: no label can examine you |
Evidence
The five ingredients, source by source
| Ingredient | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Saw palmetto | The NIH's complementary health center reviewed the research and calls saw palmetto alone "probably not helpful" for urinary symptoms. On blends that include it, the center says no firm conclusion could be reached. | National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health |
| Beta-sitosterol | A Cochrane review of 4 trials and 519 men reported better urinary symptom scores with beta-sitosterols. The same review says long-term effectiveness and safety are not known. | Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |
| Stinging nettle | One six-month trial of 620 patients reported a benefit, and its own author asks for more trials before anyone calls the herb effective. | Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy |
| Pumpkin seed | A one-year study of 1,431 men found pumpkin seed extract capsules did no better than placebo. Whole seed did somewhat better, and the authors want a confirming study. | Urologia Internationalis |
| Lycopene | A systematic review of 8 trials concluded that the published research can neither support nor refute lycopene for prostate conditions. | Maturitas |
Questions
Questions about the choice
Is Prostacor a replacement for prostate medication?
No. Its label says it is not intended to treat any disease, in 1 boxed sentence. The NIH supplements office says to get a provider's approval before taking supplements in place of prescribed medicines.
Is a blend better than saw palmetto alone?
No source settles it. The NIH page on saw palmetto reviewed 27 studies and says definite conclusions could not be reached about combinations of herbs that include it.
Sources
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH): Saw Palmetto: Usefulness and Safety read 7 October 2026
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, via PubMed (NIH): Wilt T. et al., Beta-sitosterols for benign prostatic hyperplasia (2000) read 7 October 2026
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH): Prostate Problems read 7 October 2026
- Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy, via PubMed (NIH): Safarinejad M.R., Urtica dioica for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (2005) read 7 October 2026
- Urologia Internationalis, via PubMed (NIH): Vahlensieck W. et al., the one-year GRANU study of pumpkin seed (2015) read 7 October 2026
- Maturitas, via PubMed (NIH): Ilic D., Misso M., Lycopene: a systematic review (2012) read 7 October 2026
General information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before you start a supplement.