[MissC]

After all, it is difficult enough to predict reliably the effect of a single chemical compound in a prescription pharmaceutical administered with carefully controlled dosage and conditions. Saw Palmetto is a good example. The explanations of its action and the results of trials are all over the place. PM is even more complex.

That complication may go to explain the mechanistic, reductionist thinking in the creation of pharmaceuticals.

I believe that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" applies here. Just because research has resulted in a consistent 'x mg of y results in z' doesn't mean that other constituents don't have a compounding effect.

It also seems to me that our bodies respond better to the natural things with the "unnecessary" other ingredients than they do to synthetic singular formulas.

As an admittedly anecdotal and probably scientifically meaningless example, I did see coconut oil make a more dramatic reduction in the blood pressure of an older gentleman of my acquaintance, compared to the extremely expensive prescription of another. That has of course been often replicated by others, enough to give the theory some weight, but not, quite naturally, thoroughly proven in double-blind studies at laboratories in universities most certainly not funded by coconut farmers!