School of Medicine Policlinico Hospital, University of Catania, Italy.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2013 Oct;13(11):1564-71. doi: 10.2174/13895575113139990008.
Traditional medicine is very popular in Africa and it is considered as an alternative form of health care. Plants and vegetables used in folk and traditional medicine have gained wide acceptance as one of the main sources of prophylactic and chemopreventive drug discovery and this is due to the evidence of particular biological and biochemical characteristics of each plants extracts. The role of these compounds in urological field may be explained by the antiinflammatory effect through interference with prostaglandin metabolism, alteration of lipid peroxidation, direct inhibition of prostate growth and moreover through an antiandrogenic or antiestrogenic effect and a decrease of the availability of sex hormone-binding globulin. Since Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer are two of the most diffuse diseases of aging male and considering that standard medical therapy is accompanied with different side effects, the emerging use of African plants may be justified. This review takes a look at some African plants extracts properties and their relative urological application. Different biomolecular mechanisms of action are promising, suggesting a real application in reducing prostate cells proliferation.
传统医学在非洲非常流行，被视为一种替代医疗保健形式。民间和传统医学中使用的植物和蔬菜已被广泛接受为预防和化学预防药物发现的主要来源之一，这是由于每种植物提取物具有特定的生物和生化特性的证据。这些化合物在泌尿科领域的作用可以通过干扰前列腺素代谢、改变脂质过氧化、直接抑制前列腺生长以及通过抗雄激素或抗雌激素作用和降低性激素结合球蛋白的可用性来解释。由于良性前列腺增生和前列腺癌是老年男性最常见的两种疾病之一，并且考虑到标准的医学治疗伴随着不同的副作用，非洲植物的新兴用途可能是合理的。这篇综述探讨了一些非洲植物提取物的特性及其相对的泌尿科应用。不同的生物分子作用机制很有前途，表明在减少前列腺细胞增殖方面有实际应用。
