Effects of Methanolic Extract of Trichosanthes Cucumerina Seed on Experimentally-Induced Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Abstract

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, a non-cancerous condition of unknown cause, is the most common prostate disease in men globally. The present study investigated the possible ameliorative effects of methanolic extract of Trichosanthes cucumerina seeds (METCS) on experimentally-induced prostatic hyperplasia in Wistar rats.

Twenty adult, male Wistar rats weighing 150-250 g were randomly divided into four groups of five animals each. Group I, normal control, was given corn oil only; Group II, hormone-treated control (HTC), Groups III and IV, hormone- and extract-treated, received continuous doses of 300 μg and 80 μg of testosterone and estradiol, respectively, on alternate days for three weeks subcutaneously in the inguinal region; while the extract-treated rats received additional 400 mg/kg b.w. (low dose) and 800 mg/kg b.w. (high dose) of METCS orally for another three weeks. Immediately after induction of benign prostatic hypertrophy, some animals were randomly selected and sacrificed for gross inspection of prostate enlargement, prostate specific antigen analysis (PSA) and sperm count evaluation. These procedures were repeated again after three weeks of extract treatment. The prostates were harvested and processed routinely for paraffin embedding, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E).

Results obtained showed significant (P<0.05) reduction in PSA levels following high doses of METCS and also a reversal of histological hyperplasic changes.