Effect of Proanthocyanidins from Grape Seed Extract on Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common chronic diseases affecting the urinary tract that occurs mainly in men over 40 years of age. Among the natural therapies, proanthocyanidins (PACs), which can treat a wide range of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), have been shown to play an important role in the treatment of pathologies concerning prostate health. In this regard, the present study aimed to evaluate the different bioactivities of a grape seed extract (GSE), rich in polymeric PACs, and its version processed under alkaline conditions (ATGSE), characterized by a higher content of oligomeric PACs, in an animal model of BPH induced by subcutaneous injection of testosterone (1 mg/mouse).

METHODS

These latter were divided into a control group (vehicle, olive oil), a BPH group (testosterone 1 mg/mouse), and four treatment groups treated with GSE (500 mg/kg) and ATGSE (125, 250, 500 mg/kg) by oral gavage. At the experimental endpoint (4 weeks), hematological and biochemical analyses of blood and tissues were performed.

RESULTS

Data showed that oral administration of ATGSE (250 mg/kg) was significantly more effective than GSE in reducing prostate (p ≤ 0.0001) and seminal vesicle (p ≤ 0.0001) weight. Moreover, ATGSE exhibited enhanced effectiveness in significantly reducing PSA levels (p ≤ 0.0001 vs. GSE) and the expression of key pro-inflammatory cyto-chemokines in prostate and seminal vesicles homogenates.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings pave the way for the clinical application of ATGSE as a nutraceutical and/or functional food.

Research progress on rodent models and its mechanisms of liver injury

The liver is the most important organ for biological transformation in the body and is crucial for maintaining the body's vital activities. Liver injury is a serious pathological condition that is commonly found in many liver diseases. It has a high incidence rate, is difficult to cure, and is prone to recurrence. Liver injury can cause serious harm to the body, ranging from mild to severe fatty liver disease. If the condition continues to worsen, it can lead to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, ultimately resulting in liver failure or liver cancer, which can seriously endanger human life and health. Therefore, establishing an rodent model that mimics the pathogenesis and severity of clinical liver injury is of great significance for better understanding the pathogenesis of liver injury patients and developing more effective clinical treatment methods. The author of this article summarizes common chemical liver injury models, immune liver injury models, alcoholic liver injury models, drug-induced liver injury models, and systematically elaborates on the modeling methods, mechanisms of action, pathways of action, and advantages or disadvantages of each type of model. The aim of this study is to establish reliable rodent models for researchers to use in exploring anti-liver injury and hepatoprotective drugs. By creating more accurate theoretical frameworks, we hope to provide new insights into the treatment of clinical liver injury diseases.

Evaluation of the therapeutic effect against benign prostatic hyperplasia and the active constituents from Epilobium angustifolium L

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Plants of Epilobium angustifolium are popular in China to treatment of traumatic injury, subduing inflammation and menstrual disorders. In European, the preparations or extracts containing E. angustifolium are popular to treat prostate diseases. Recent research suggested that E. angustifolium showed therapeutic effects in early stage of BPH, inflammation of urethra and prostate, as well as micturition problems. And the related researches were focus on aqueous extract and its main constituent of oenothein B.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic effect against BPH of the ethyl acetate extracts (EAE) and n-butanol extracts (BUE) from E. angustifolium and to chemical investigation of the active constituents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The in vitro anti-BPH activity was assessed by determining the benign prostatic hyperplasia epithelial-1 (BPH-1) cell viability using MTT assay as well as suppressing of prostate specific antigen (PSA) secretion in prostate epithelial cancer hormone-dependent (LNCaP) cells measured by ELISA method. The in vivo anti-BPH was evaluated by testosterone propionate induced BPH SD rats. After oral administration of BUE at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg B.W. for 28 days, the prostate weight and index, plasma androgen level, histopathological alteration, oxidative and inflammatory-related factors in prostate were assessed. Phytochemical investigation on active extracts was carried by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Anti-BPH activities of the isolates were evaluated in vitro.

RESULTS

BUE and EAE from E. angustifolium exhibited significant anti-BPH effect in vitro. Further in vivo study demonstrated that BUE exhibited therapeutic effects against TP-induced BPH in SD rats via down-regulating of the androgen level, suppressing the expression of NF-κB and eventually alleviating the inflammatory responses and oxidative stress. Phytochemical research on BUE and EAE extracts led to the isolation and identification of 50 compounds. In vitro anti-BPH screening revealed that 26 compounds exhibited anti-proliferation in BHP-1 cell and 36 compounds showed PSA inhibition in LNCap cell, in which 7 compounds exhibited very significant anti-BPH activities in both two cell lines (P < 0.01), 5 compounds with extremely significant activities in one of the cell lines (P < 0.001), and compound 25 exhibited the most potent anti-BPH activity (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

E. angustifolium exhibited the therapeutic potential against BPH, and its active compounds may be used as candidate for treatment of BPH.

N-Butanol and Aqueous Fractions of Red Maca Methanolic Extract Exerts Opposite Effects on Androgen and Oestrogens Receptors (Alpha and Beta) in Rats with Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) affects, worldwide, 50% of 60-year-old men. The Peruvian plant red maca (Lepidium meyenii) inhibits BPH in rodents. This study aimed to determine the effects of methanolic red maca extract and its n-butanol and aqueous fractions on expression of androgen and oestrogen receptors in rats with testosterone enanthate-induced BPH. Thirty-six rats in six groups were studied. Control group received 2 mL of vehicle orally and 0.1 mL of propylene glycol intramuscularly. The second group received vehicle orally and testosterone enanthate (TE) (25 mg/0.1 mL) intramuscularly in days 1 and 7. The other four groups were BPH-induced with TE and received, during 21 days, 3.78 mg/mL of finasteride, 18.3 mg/mL methanol extract of red maca, 2 mg/mL of n-butanol fraction, or 16.3 mg/mL of aqueous fraction from red maca. Treatments with red maca extract and its n-butanol but not aqueous fraction reduced prostate weight similar to finasteride. All maca treated groups restored the expression of ERβ, but only the aqueous fraction increased androgen receptors and ERα. In conclusion, butanol fraction of red maca reduced prostate size in BPH by restoring expression of ERβ without affecting androgen receptors and ERα. This effect was not observed with aqueous fraction of methanolic extract of red maca.

Potential ameliorative effects of grape seed-derived polyphenols against cadmium induced prostatic deficits

Grape (Vitis vinifera) is consumed as fruit and wine for people. In this study, rat model of prostatic deficits was induced by orally receiving 60mg/L cadmium chlorine (CdCl₂) through drinking water for 20 weeks. Grape seed-derived polyphenols extract (GSP) was orally given for 20 weeks. Finally, the prostatic levels of E-cadherin, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin were measured by immunohistochemical and qPCR analysis. The oxidative stress was measured by detecting the levels of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione and enzymatic antioxidant status. Additionally, the prostatic expressions of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), type I TGF-β receptor (TGF-βRI), Smad3, phosphorylation-Smad3 (p-Smad3), Smad7, nuclear related factor-2 (Nrf-2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and γ-glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (γ-GCLC) were measured by western blot. The levels of microRNA (miR)-133a/b were measured by qPCR. It was observed that GSP ameliorated the prostatic oxidative stress and fibrosis induced by CdCl₂. GSP also inhibited the over-generation of TGF-β1 and p-Smad3, as well as enhanced the levels of Smad7, Nrf-2, HO-1, γ-GCLC and miR-133a/b. These results showed that GSP could attenuate Cd-induced prostatic deficits.

The anti-hyperplasia, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of Qing Ye Dan and swertiamarin in testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats

Qing Ye Dan (QYD) is the whole plant of Swertia mileensis and used in Chinese folk medicine for the treatment of prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and so on. This study was to investigate the effects of QYD and its main component swertiamarin on BPH induced by testosterone in rats. The prostatic expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (βFGF) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were detected by immunohistochemistry assay. Prostatic levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory-related factors were also analyzed. Additionally, the prostatic expressions of androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor (ER)-α, ER-β, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, B-cell CLL/lymphoma (Bcl)-2 and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) were measured by western blot. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) associated factors were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. It showed that QYD and swertiamarin ameliorated the testosterone-induced prostatic hyperplasia and collagen deposition, attenuated the over-expressions of HIF-1α, VEGF, EGF, βFGF, PCNA, AR and ER-α, reduced the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, enhanced the expression of ER-β, inhibited the oxidative stress and local inflammation, as well as relieved prostatic EMT. It suggested that QYD and swertiamarin had prostatic protective potential against BPH.

Cadmium induced apoptosis in mouse primary hepatocytes: the role of oxidative stress-mediated ERK pathway activation and the involvement of histone H3 phosphorylation

Time-delayed apoptosis induced by cadmium in primary hepatocytes through DNA damage, histone modification and ERK signaling cascade, which are all mediated by oxidative stress.