Effects of the Korean Medicinal Herbs for Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Induced in Rat Models: A Review

Abstract

Objectives This study is to review the effect of Korean medicinal herbs on treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia induced in rat models, as reported in domestic and foreign journals. Methods Six electronic databases (EMBASE, PubMed, Oasis, RISS, CENTRAL, and Koreankt) were searched with terms including benign prostatic hyperplasia to identify study reports on treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia impairment with Korean medicinal herbs. After selecting several studies, the analysis focused on items reflected in the diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia, such as prostate weight, thickness of the prostate epithelium, and prostate specific antigen. Results Six studies were reviewed. Testosterone propionate was used as a benign prostatic hyperplasia induction material in all the included studies. Cinnamomum verum (CV), Cynanchum wilfordii (CW), Ponciri fructus (PF), Quisqualis indica (QI), Acorus gramineus (AG), and Melandrium firmum (MF) had reduced prostate weight statistically significantly. The QI gave a better response than finasteride in terms of reducing epithelium thickness, and the response was statistically significant. The prostate specific antigen level was lower in the group treated with CV than in the control group. Conclusions CV, CW, PF, QI, AG, and MF had distinct therapeutic effects. However it is difficult to determine which of these is better by comparing them numerically because the observation items evaluated in a rat model of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Keywords: benign prostatic hyperplasia, Korean medicinal herbs, rat model, review