Berberine ameliorates testosterone-induced benign prostate hyperplasia in rats

Abstract

Introduction Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a major urologic problem that mostly develops in older males. Oxidative stress and inflammation influence the occurrence of BPH. Berberine (BBR) is a natural ingredient that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The current research aims at examining the effects of BBR on testosterone-stimulated BPH in rats. Methods Animals were randomly categorized to six groups. In the control group, normal saline and olive oil were injected as the vehicle. BPH group: received testosterone (3 mg/kg, subcutaneous, 28 days), BPH + BBR groups; received BBR (25 and 50 mg/kg, p.o, 28 days), BPH + finasteride groups: received finasteride (1 mg/kg, p.o, 28 days), BBR (50 mg/kg, p.o, alone) was administered for subjects in the BBR group. On the 29th day, after anesthesia, cervical dislocation was used to kill the subjects. Serum concentration of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone was measured and prostate tissues were excised and used for biochemical, inflammation, and histological analysis. Results BBR prevented increased serum concentrations of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. BBR considerably reduced BPH-stimulated oxidative stress and inflammation through preventing the rise in lipid peroxidation and nitrite concentration and declined the accumulations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor α) and declining the depletion rate of GSH and the function of catalase and superoxide dismutase. Histopathological investigations reported that administration of BBR could suppress testosterone-stimulated BPH. Conclusion This study demonstrated that BBR could significantly prevent the development of BPH in rats.

Histopathological and Biochemical Assessment of Annona muricata and Allium sativum Pooled Extract on Testosterone Induced Prostate Hyperplasia in Albino Rats

“…In line with previous studies [20,21,18] [26][27][28][29] .A notable decrease in PSA was noted in the groups treated with the pooled plant extract, indicating the therapeutic advantage of the pooled plant extract over the single plant extract, which had a minor impact.There still need to investigate the mechanism of the reduction of PSA and the exact phytochemical constituent responsible.…”

“…Prostate index (PI) and histomorphological alterations have been employed in the past to assess the protective ability of curative drugs. The parameters are essential indicators of the development of prostate tumors such as benign prostatic hyperplasia [18,19]. Prostate weight rise is indicated by PI.…”

Diacerein provokes apoptosis, improves redox balance, and downregulates PCNA and TNF-α in a rat model of testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia: A new non-invasive approach

“…Furthermore, the mean area percent of the stromal deposited collagen increased considerably in the BPH group compared to the control group. Thickening of fibromuscular stroma was also reported in previous models and might be attributed to high serum levels of DHT [35,36].…”