Effects of the Aqueous Extract of Mimosa Pudica on Experimentally-Induced Prostatic Hyperplasia

Abstract

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, a non-cancerous condition of unknown etiology, is the most common prostatic disease in men globally. The present study investigated the possible ameliorative effects of aqueous extracts of Mimosa pudica on experimentally-induced prostatic hyperplasia in Wistar rats.

Twenty adult, male Wistar rats weighing 120-180 g were randomly divided into four groups (A, B, C, D) of five animals each. Group A, normal control, was given corn oil only; Group B rats were hormone-treated. Groups C and D rats were hormone and extract treated, and 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. The extract-treated rats received an additional 400 mg/kg b. w and 800 mg/kg b. w. of M. pudica orally for another four 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 four weeks of extract treatment. The prostates were excised 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, increase in sperm count and also a reversal of histological hyperplastic changes.