Phytotherapy in Chronic Prostatitis

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome continues to pose a treatment challenge for urologists. Chronic prostatitis is a very common and poorly understood condition with significant impact on quality of life. In recent literature, studies have been conducted with various treatment modalities that include antibiotics, α-blockers, anti-inflammatory agents, and cognitive behavioral interventions such as biofeedback and psychotherapy. Patients have shown interest in phytotherapy as a treatment option with increasing frequency due to lack of efficacy of conventional therapies. However, very little is known about the efficacy of second- and third-line treatments, such as the use of herbal supplements. We review published literature regarding phytotherapy usage for chronic prostatitis. The treatments include Chinese herbs, green tea extract, zinc, cernitin pollen extract (bee pollen), quercetin, saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), and lycopene. © 2009 Current Medicine Group LLC.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe