Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the common male diseases, which is provoked by dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and androgen signals. Several studies showed that curcumin has various effects of prevention and treatment to diseases.
We investigated whether curcumin may repress the development of BPH in male Wistar rats.
Seven weeks male Wistar rats were and divided into 4 groups (normal group, BPH group, finasteride group, curcumin group; n = 8 for each group). In order to induce BPH in rats, rats were castrated and testosterone was injected subcutaneously everyday (s. c. , 20 mg/kg). Rats in the curcumin group were treated 50 mg/kg, administered orally for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, all rats were sacrificed and their prostate and serum were analyzed.
Compared to the finasteride group as positive group, the curcumin group showed similarly protective effect on BPH in histopathologic morphology, prostate volume. Results of immunohistochemistry and western-blot showed decreased expressions of VEGF, TGF-ß1, and IGF1 were also decreased in the curcumin group.
These results suggested that curcumin inhibited the development of BPH and might a useful herbal treatment or functional food for BPH.
BMC complementary and alternative medicine. 2015 Oct 22*** epublish ***
Su Kang Kim, Hosik Seok, Hae Jeong Park, Hye Sook Jeon, Sang Wook Kang, Byung-Cheol Lee, Jooil Yi, Sang Yeol Song, Sang Hyub Lee, Young Ock Kim, Joo-Ho Chung
Kohwang Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea. , Kohwang Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea. , Kohwang Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea. , Kohwang Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea. , Kohwang Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea. , Department of Internal Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-702, Republic of Korea. , Department of Internal Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-702, Republic of Korea. , Department of Internal Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-702, Republic of Korea. , Department of Urology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-702, Republic of Korea. , Development of Ginseng and Medical Plants Research Institute, Rural Administration, Eumseong, 369-873, Republic of Korea. , Kohwang Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea.