Department of Pharmacology, College of Korean Medicine, Sangji University, 83 Sangjidae-gil, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 26339, Republic of Korea.
Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 May 10;235:481-488. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.01.039. Epub 2019 Jan 29.
Chinese Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi), which is part of the 50 fundamental herbs of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been extensively used in the several East Asian countries to treat pyrexia, micturition disorder and inflammation. Although skullcap has effective properties on various diseases, the effects and molecular mechanism of Chinese Skullcap on BPH are still needed for better understanding.
In present study, we aimed to demonstrate the efficacy of Chinese Skullcap root extract (SRE) in testosterone-induced BPH rats and investigate the exact regulatory mechanism involved.
We followed a protocol of testosterone-induced BPH. Rats were allocated into five groups: Group 1, control; Group 2, BPH-induced rats; Group 3, BPH-induced rats administrated with finasteride; Group 4, BPH-induced rats administrated with SRE 100 mg/kg/day; Group 5 - BPH-induced rats administrated with SRE 200 mg/kg/day. We measured the weight of prostate, and thickness of prostate using H&E staining. Western blotting, immunostaining and real-time PCR were used to measure proliferation- and inflammation-relative markers. To confirm the effects of SRE on apoptotic events in BPH-induced tissues, we performed the TUNEL assay.
Compared with the untreated group, the SRE administration group suppressed pathological alterations, such as prostate growth and increase in serum DHT and 5α-reductase levels. Furthermore, SRE significantly obliterated the expression of AR and PCNA. SRE also restored Bax/Bcl-2 balance, inducing apoptosis in rats with BPH. These effect of SRE was more prevalent than commercial 5α-reductase inhibitor, finasteride.
Taken together, we propose that SRE suppresses abnormal androgen events in prostate tissue and inhibits the development of BPH by targeting inflammation- and apoptosis-related markers. These finding strengthens that SRE could be used as plant-based 5α-reductase inhibitory alternative.
中国黄芩（黄芩）是中药的 50 种基本草药之一，在中国、日本和韩国等几个东亚国家被广泛用于治疗发热、尿频和炎症。尽管黄芩对各种疾病都有有效的作用，但仍需要更好地了解黄芩对 BPH 的作用和分子机制。
本研究旨在证明黄芩根提取物（SRE）对睾酮诱导的 BPH 大鼠的疗效，并探讨涉及的确切调节机制。
我们遵循睾酮诱导的 BPH 方案。将大鼠分为五组：第 1 组，对照组；第 2 组，BPH 诱导大鼠；第 3 组，BPH 诱导大鼠给予非那雄胺；第 4 组，BPH 诱导大鼠给予 SRE 100mg/kg/天；第 5 组 - BPH 诱导大鼠给予 SRE 200mg/kg/天。我们使用 H&E 染色测量前列腺重量和前列腺厚度。使用 Western blot、免疫染色和实时 PCR 测量增殖和炎症相关标志物。为了确认 SRE 对 BPH 诱导组织中凋亡事件的影响，我们进行了 TUNEL 测定。
与未处理组相比，SRE 给药组抑制了前列腺生长以及血清 DHT 和 5α-还原酶水平升高的病理改变。此外，SRE 显著抑制了 AR 和 PCNA 的表达。SRE 还恢复了 Bax/Bcl-2 平衡，诱导 BPH 大鼠凋亡。SRE 的这些作用比商业 5α-还原酶抑制剂非那雄胺更为明显。
综上所述，我们提出 SRE 通过靶向炎症和凋亡相关标志物抑制前列腺组织中异常雄激素事件的发生，并抑制 BPH 的发展。这些发现表明 SRE 可作为植物来源的 5α-还原酶抑制剂的替代品。
