Phytotherapy: emerging therapeutic option in urologic disease

Phytotherapy belongs to the area of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the definition of phytotherapy is the use of plants or plant extracts for medicinal uses. Interest in phytotherapy is growing in both Asian and western countries for its use in the prevention and management of disease, improvement of general health and anti-aging. And also, there are several studies about the efficacy of phytotherapy in urologic diseases like benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), erectile dysfunction (ED), late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) and infertility in males. Phytotherapy for BPH including saw palmetto, pygeum, and nettles, is under vigorous research for the therapeutic effect. No solid evidence showing better effective treatment modality for ED than placebo has been found yet for phytotherapy. Recently, a potent NO donor, L-arginine is under research with promising results. Phytotherapy is used by a number of patients with urological disease, and urologists need to have accurate knowledge about phytotherapy as well as keep a cautious approach. The possible effects and side effects should be defined and related to urologic patients by urologists.