• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.80-85
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• 2008

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the common diseases in elderly men. Recently, the old-aged population has increased, with the interest in the clinical importance of BPH ever growing. This study is designed to investigate the effects of KH-305 on BPH induced rat. The herb formulation KH-305 is consisted of Rubus coreanus, Cornus officinalis and Cuscuta chinensis. An experimental prostatic hyperplasia was induced in male rats by the administration of testosterone propionate, 3 mg/kg SC, for 2 months. The rats were divided into 3 experimental groups: the control, BPH-induced, oral KH-305 ingestion group. After 2 months, the prostates were removed, and analyzed for their prostatic weight and histological examination. The prostate weights were measured in each group, and found to be 820${\pm}$38mg, 3140${\pm}$26mg, 1880${\pm}$21mg in the control, BPH-induced, and oral KH-305 ingestion group, respectively. The BPH induced group showed statistically significant increases in their prostatic weights compared with control group(p<0.05) but oral KH-305 ingestion group showed more significant decreases than BPH-induced group statically(p<0.05). Histologically injected testosterone lead to prostatic hyperplasia in rats, but oral KH-305 ingestion decreased this change. These results suggest that KH-305 may be effective in treatment of BPH, and complementary medicine of BPH.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.27-34
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• 2023

Objectives : Currently, the benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common urogenital disorder in old men. We were performed to determine the effects of abietic acid (AC), component of pine resin, in benign prostatic hyperplastic Sprague-Dawley rat (SD rat) induced by testosterone injection (IP). Methods : We monitored body weights in SD rat at start and end date of experiment. After end of experiment, the prostate weights were measured in SD rats. Glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) levels was performed in serum. And we determined the 5-alpha reductase Ⅱ activity, testosterone levels, and dihydrotestosterone levels in prostate tissue and serum using ELISA kit. Results : As results, the prostate wights were increased in BPH group compared to normal group and were decreased in fina, AC30, and AC 50 groups, respectively. Serum GOT levels were decreased in AC50 group compared to BPH group. And Serum GPT levels of AC30 and AC50 groups were lower than BPH group. In addition, the 5-alpha reductase Ⅱ activity, testosterone levels, and dihydrotestosterone levels were decreased the fina, AC10, AC30, and AC 50 groups contrast to the BPH group. Furthermore, 5-alpha reductase Ⅱ activity, testosterone levels, and dihydrotestosterone levels were decreased dose dependent in AC groups compared to BPH group. Conclusion : These results suggest that AC could be used as a potential material for the treatment of BPH by decreasing the androgen levels in benign prostatic hyperplasia model rats.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2018.10a
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• pp.31-31
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• 2018

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is the most common disorder in elderly men, involves androgenic hormone imbalance with chronic inflammation that causes imbalance between cell apoptosis and cell proliferation. As the root cause of the BPH remains unclear and synthetic drugs for treatment of BPH have undesirable side effects, the development of effective alternative medicines has been considered. Chinese Skullcap has been considered natural remedy to treat pyrexia, micturition disorder and inflammation. Although skullcap has effective properties on various diseases, the effects and molecular mechanism of Skullcap on BPH are not fully understood. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the efficacy of Chinese Skullcap root extract (SRE) in testosterone-induced BPH rats. Compared with the untreated group, the SRE treatment group suppressed pathological alterations, such as prostate growth and increase in serum dihydrotestosterone and $5{\alpha}$-reductase levels. Furthermore, SRE significantly decreased the expression of androgen receptor and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. SRE also restored Bax/Bcl-2 balance. These effect of SRE was more prevalent than commercial $5{\alpha}$-reductase inhibitor, finasteride. Taken together, we propose that SRE suppresses abnormal androgen events in prostate tissue and inhibits the development of BPH by targeting inflammation- and apoptosis-related markers. These finding strengthens that SRE could be used as plant-based $5{\alpha}$-reductase inhibitory alternative.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.806-812
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• 2015

Prostatic inflammation plays a crucial role on benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) pathogenesis and progression. In this study, BPH was induced by testosterone propinate in castrated rats for 8 weeks. Hot water extract from Curcuma longa L. (CL) was administered orally for 4 weeks along with positive controls, saw Palmetto and finasteride. CL supplementation induced histological changes, reduced expression of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-$1{\beta}$, COX-2, and phospo-p65 in prostate tissue compared with the BPH group. These findings suggest that suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines could be attributed, at least partly, to the anti-inflammatory action of C. longa, and this action may be helpful to understand the inhibitory effect of Curcuma longa L. in BPH.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.507-515
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• 2014

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is commonly found in aging men, is characterized by hyperplasia of prostatic stromal and epithelial cells beginning in the periurethral zone of the prostate. The prevalence of BPH increases in an age-dependent manner. Here, we investigated the protective effects of unripe Rubus occidentalis extracts (UROE) on BPH development using a prostate cancer cell line and testosterone-induced BPH rat model. Experiments using an established hormone-dependent prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) showed that UROE treatment significantly decreased expression of androgen-related genes, including androgen receptor (AR), prostate specific antigen (PSA), and 5-alpha reductase 2, but not 5-alpha reductase 1, which was also observed in flutamide-treated cells. Further, AR and PSA gene expression was reduced by UROE treatment under androgen-stimulated conditions using dihydrotestosterone (DHT). BPH animals displayed elevated prostate weights. However, UROE as well as finasteride treatment significantly reduced prostate weights and DHT levels compared to testosterone-induced BPH animals. Histopathological analysis also showed that UROE treatment suppressed testosterone-induced prostatic hyperplasia. Taken together, the results suggest that UROE may effectively inhibit the development of BPH and thus may be a useful agent in BPH treatment.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.355-364
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• 2009

Objectives : Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common diseases among elderly men. Though medicines such as 5${\alpha}$-reductase inhibitor (finasteride) have recently been developed for treating BPH, their adverse effects and low efficacy should not be overlooked. Curcuma longa has a long history of use in traditional medicines of Asian countries. Many reports conclude the component curcumin in Curcuma lonfa, has the potential to treat various diseases including prostate cancer. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects and action mechanism of Curcuma longa with a BPH rat model. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were used with subcutaneous injection of testosterone after castration, which were histologically similar to human BPH. A total of 30 rats were equally divided into five groups: Group 1 served as control (sham-operated group): Group 2 was the model group: Group 3 and Group 4 animals were administered Curcuma longa at dose levels of 0.5g/kg and 1.0g/kg: Group 5 served as a positive control group and was treated with finasteride at a dose of 1 mg/kg. The drugs were administered orally once a day for 30 days consecutively. After 31 days, the prostates were removed, and analyzed for their prostatic weight and histological examination. Results : The oral Curcuma longa ingestion group showed statistically significant decreases in their prostatic weights compared with the BPH-induced group and the oral finasteride ingestion group (p<0.05). Curcuma longa is also very safe in liver and kidney up to a dose of lg/kg. Injected testosterone histologically led to prostatic hyperplasia in rats, but oral Curcuma longa ingestion decreased this change. Conclusions : These results suggest that Curcuma longa has a definite inhibitory effect on BPH and might be an alternative medicine for treatment and prevention of human BPH.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.560-565
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• 2019

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a common disease in elderly males, is accompanied by non-malignant growth of prostate tissues, subsequently causing hypoxia and angiogenesis. Although VEGF-related angiogenesis is one of the therapeutic targets of prostate cancer, there is no previous study targeting angiogenesis for treatment of BPH. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in prostate epithelial RWPE-1 cells and human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs). Conditioned media (CM) from DHT-treated RWPE-1 cells were transferred to HUVECs. Then, 6SL inhibited proliferation, VEGFR-2 activation, and tube formation of HUVECs transferred with CM from DHT-treated RWPE-1 cells. In the rat BPH model, 6SL reduced prostate weight, size, and thickness of the prostate tissue. Formation of vessels in prostatic tissues were also reduced with 6SL treatment. We found that 6SL has an ameliorative effect on in vitro and in vivo the BPH model via inhibition of VEGFR-2 activation and subsequent angiogenesis. These results suggest that 6SL might be a candidate for development of novel BPH drugs.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.419-434
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common prostate disease and one of the most common chronic diseases caused by aging in men. On the other hand, there has been no research on BPH using Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai (A. distichum). Therefore, this study investigated the effects of A. distichum on BPH. MATERIALS/METHODS: A. distichum leaves were extracted with distilled water, 70% ethanol, and 95% hexane as solvents. Subsequently, the inhibitory effects of each A. distichum extract on androgen receptor (AR) signaling were evaluated in vitro. The testosterone-induced BPH model was then used to confirm the efficacy of A. distichum leaves in 70% ethanol extract (ADLE). RESULTS: ADLE had the strongest inhibitory effect on AR signaling. A comparison of the activity of ADLE by harvest time showed that the leaves of A. distichum harvested in autumn had a superior inhibitory effect on AR signaling to those harvested at other times. In the BPH rat model, the administration of ADLE reduced the prostate size and prostate epithelial cell thickness significantly and inhibited AR signaling. Subsequently, the administration of ADLE also reduced the expression of growth factors, thereby inactivating the PI3K/AKT pathway. CONCLUSIONS: An analysis of the efficacy of ADLE to relieve BPH showed that the ethanol extract grown in autumn exhibited the highest inhibitory ability of the androgen-signaling related factors in vitro. ADLE also inhibited the expression of growth factors by inhibiting the expression of the androgen-signaling related factors in vivo. Overall, ADLE is proposed as a functional food that is effective in preventing BPH.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.166-176
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• 2010

Objective : Benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) is one of the most common diseases among elderly men. In BPH, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) acts as a potent cellular androgen and promotes prostate growth. Many reports conclude the component melittin in bee venom has the potential to treat various diseases including prostate cancer. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects and action mechanism of Bee venom herbal acupuncture with BPH induced by castration and testosterone treatment. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with testosterone after castration for induction of experimental BPH. A total of 24 rats were equally divided into four groups: Group 1 was the model group; Group 2 served as control (sham-operated group); Group 3 animals were treated with Bee venom herbal acupuncture as an experimental specimen; Group 4 served as a positive control group and was treated with finasteride at a dose of 1 mg/kg. The drugs were administered orally. The prostates were evaluated by prostatic weight, volume, histopathological changes and testosterone levels. Results : While prostates of control rats revealed severe acinar gland atrophy and stromal proliferation, the rats treated with Bee venom herbal acupuncture showed a diminished range of tissue damage and showed significant decrease in their prostatic weights, volume and histopathological examination. Conclusions : These results suggest that Bee venom herbal acupuncture may protect the glandular epithelial cells and also inhibit stromal proliferation. From theses results, we suggest that Bee venom herbal acupuncture could be a useful remedy agent for treating the benign prostatic hyperplasia.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.131-141
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• 2010

Objective : Benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) is one of the most common diseased among elderly men. BPH can be treated with alpha-1 adrenergic blocker or $5{\alpha}$-reductase inhibitor(Finasteride) that reduces serum dihydrotestosterone(DHT). Phellodendri Cortex Ex has been broad studied on its chemical components, pharmacological activity, and clinical effects on anti-inflammation, anti-allergy, anti-tumor, immunity, antibacteria and other bioactivities. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects and action mechanism of Phellodendri Cortex Ex with a BPH induced by castration and testosterone treatment. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with testosterone after castration for induction of experimental benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is similar to human benign prostatic hyperplasia in histopathological profiles. Phellodendri Cortex as an experimental specimen, and Finasteride as a positive control, were administered orally. The prostates were evaluated by histopathological changes, and the expression of $5{\alpha}$-reductase genes. Results : While prostates of control rats revealed severe acinar gland atrophy and stromal proliferation, the rats treated with Phellodendri Cortex Ex showed a diminished range of the tissue damage. In the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) of $5{\alpha}$-reductase genes, Phellodendri Cortex inhibited the expression of $5{\alpha}$-reductase genes. Conclusions : These findings suggest that Phellodendri Cortex Ex may protect the glandular epithelial cells and also inhibit stromal proliferation in association with the suppression of $5{\alpha}$-reductase. From these results, we suggest that Phellodendri Cortex Ex could be a useful agent for treating the benign prostatic hyperplasia.