The Effect of Pomegranate Fruit Extract on Testosterone-Induced BPH in Rats

BACKGROUNDBenign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) affects many men after the age of 50 years. Inflammation and oxidative stress along with apoptotic changes are thought to play an important role in the pathology of BPH. Pomegranate contains a variety of polyphenolic compounds that have been studied in a medley of diseases for their anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic properties. Therefore, this study examined the effect of Pomegranate Fruit Extract (PFE) on the development of BPH using a testosterone-induced BPH model in rats. METHODSA total of 48 rats were randomly divided into six groups of eight, one group served as the control, BPH was induced by testosterone 3mg/kg S.C. daily in four groups, three of them received PFE by oral gavage daily at doses of 25, 50, and 100mg/kg respectively, while one group received PFE at a dose of 50mg/kg without induction of BPH. RESULTSPFE at a dose of 100mg/kg was the most effective in decreasing testosterone-induced increase in prostate weight, prostate weight/body weight ratio, and PAP levels by 30.8%, 55%, and 68% respectively and in preventing the accompanying histological changes. In the BPH model, testosterone significantly decreased GSH, SOD, and CAT to 0.45, 0.64, and 0.88 of the control group values respectively, and significantly increased MDA by >6-fold. In combination with testosterone, PFE dosed at 100mg/kg significantly increased GSH, SOD, and CAT to 0.83, 0.92, and 0.93 of the control group values respectively, whereas MDA was significantly decreased by 72% compared with the testosterone treated group. In addition to this, at the range of doses studied, PFE lowered COX-II, iNOS, Ki-67 expression, and increased apoptotic index. CONCLUSIONThe current findings elucidate the effectiveness of PFE in preventing testosterone-induced BPH in rats. This could be attributed, at least partly, to its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and pro-apoptotic properties. Prostate 75:679-692, 2015. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.