Lee Seong Min, Lee Sang Mok, Song Jungbin
Department of Herbal Pharmacology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
Nutrients. 2024 Apr 17;16(8):1189. doi: 10.3390/nu16081189.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the non-malignant enlargement of the prostate, associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs). Taraxaci Herba (TH), commonly known as dandelion, has traditionally been utilized in East Asia to treat symptoms related to LUTSs. Based on this traditional use, our study aimed to explore the inhibitory effects of TH on BPH progression using a testosterone propionate-induced rat model. To induce BPH, male Sprague Dawley rats were castrated and injected subcutaneously with testosterone propionate (3 mg/kg/day) for 28 days. Concurrently, TH extract was administered orally at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg/day throughout the four-week period of testosterone propionate injections. The TH extract significantly reduced both the absolute and relative weights of the prostate, along with histopathological changes in the gland. Moreover, it lowered serum levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone and reduced the expression of the androgen receptor in the prostate. Additionally, the TH extract modulated the protein expressions of Bax and Bcl-2, which are key regulators of apoptosis in prostate cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that TH inhibits BPH development partially by modulating androgen signaling and inducing apoptosis within the prostate.
良性前列腺增生（BPH）是前列腺的非恶性增大，与下尿路症状（LUTS）相关。蒲公英（Taraxaci Herba，TH），俗称蒲公英，在东亚传统上被用于治疗与LUTS相关的症状。基于这种传统用途，我们的研究旨在使用丙酸睾酮诱导的大鼠模型探索TH对BPH进展的抑制作用。为了诱导BPH，对雄性Sprague Dawley大鼠进行去势，并皮下注射丙酸睾酮（3 mg/kg/天），持续28天。同时，在注射丙酸睾酮的四周期间，以100和300 mg/kg/天的剂量口服给予TH提取物。TH提取物显著降低了前列腺的绝对重量和相对重量，以及腺体的组织病理学变化。此外，它降低了血清睾酮和双氢睾酮水平，并降低了前列腺中雄激素受体的表达。此外，TH提取物调节了Bax和Bcl-2的蛋白表达，这两种蛋白是前列腺细胞凋亡的关键调节因子。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，TH通过调节雄激素信号传导和诱导前列腺细胞凋亡来部分抑制BPH的发展。
