<i>Ixeris polycephala</i> Extract Alleviates Progression of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia via Modification of Proliferation, Apoptosis, and Inflammation

• Main Authors: Eun-Bok Baek (Author), Youn-Hwan Hwang (Author), Eun-Ju Hong (Author), Young-Suk Won (Author), Hyo-Jung Kwun (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2024-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a urogenital disorder that is common in aging men. <i>Ixeris polycephala</i> (IP) is used in traditional medicine and contains pharmacologically active compounds. However, the effect for BPH progression has not been elucidated. We herein examined the protective potential of IP extract on a testosterone-induced model of BPH in rats. To generate the BPH model, daily subcutaneous administration of testosterone was applied for 4 weeks. During this period, the rats were also administered a daily oral gavage of IP (150 mg/kg), finasteride (positive control), or vehicle. Testosterone treatment was associated with a significantly higher prostate-to-body weight ratio, serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) level, and prostatic gene expression of 5α-reductase compared to untreated controls. Notably, IP plus testosterone co-treatment was associated with decreased epithelial thickness, down-regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and cyclin D1, and upregulation of pro-apoptotic signaling molecules. IP co-treatment also down-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and decreased inflammatory cell infiltration compared to the levels seen in the testosterone-induced BPH. IP appears to protect rats against the progression of testosterone-induced BPH by alleviating prostate cell growth and inflammatory responses, and thus may have potential for clinical use against BPH progression.

Item Description

10.3390/ph17081032
1424-8247