ABSTRACT-There have been several reports concerning the therapeutic effect of an extract from animal prostates on benign prostatic hypertrophy. Previously, we re ported that the swine prostate extract (PE) had the activity to enhance human prosta tic acid phosphatase (PAPase) activity in vitro, and to increase the muscular tonicity of the urinary bladder by directly acting upon vesical muscles, suggesting that PE have an activity to elevate the intravesical voiding pressure in vivo. In the present study, it was attempted to isolate such an active principle of PE as activates human prostatic acid phosphatase (PAPase). The finally purified PE (PPE) was assessed as to some physico-chemical and pharmacological properties. 1) PPE was found to be a peptide with a molecular weight of about 8,800, composed largely of neutral amino acids (approximately 70%) and few of aromatic amino acids. 2) PPE activated PAPase in a dose-dependent fashion, resulting in an increase of the enzyme activity approximately twice in a dose of 2 X 105 g/ml of PPE. Furthermore, PPE recovered PAPase activ ity dose-dependently from the 50% inhibition by 2 X 10-3 M L-tartaric acid. 3) In castrated rats, the 3H-testosterone uptake of the prostate was significantly suppressed by the oral administration of PPE. PPE might be one of active principles of PE for the therapeutic effect on prostatic hypertrophy.

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Previously, we purified a substance from swine prostate extract (PE) that had been reported to have therapeutic effect on benign prostatic hypertrophy. The purified substance (PPE) suppressed 3H-testosterone uptake into the prostate in castrated rats. The present study was carried out to examine the effect of PPE on the weight of accessory sexual organs including the prostate and biochemical parameters in the prostate of normal and/or castrated and testosterone-treated rats. 1) In normal rats, the p.o. administration of PPE daily for a total of 30 days did not affect the prostate weight, but reduced the citric acid content in the prostate. The treatment had little or no influence tissue 0, uptake, aconitase activity or isocitrate dehydrogenase activity in the prostate. 2) In castrated and testosterone-treated rats, the p.o. treat ment with PPE for 15 or 30 days reduced the weight of the prostate as well as the to tal citric acid, DNA and RNA contents in prostatic tissue. However, these biochemi cal parameters per tissue weight were not obviously affected except for the citric acid content. These findings suggest that PPE is one of the active principals of PE for the therapeutic efficiency on benign prostatic hypertrophy, probably due to its suppressive effect on excessive uptake of androgen by the prostate.