Seoritae Extract Reduces Prostate Weight and Suppresses Prostate Cell Proliferation in a Rat Model of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Hoon Jang,Seung-Mo Yuk,Dong-Seok Han,Sae-Woong Kim,Shin-Hee Yoon,Woong-Jin Bae,U-Syn Ha,Chang-Hee Han,Seong-Yeon Hwang

doi:10.1155/2014/475876

Abstract

Seoritae is a type of black soybean that is known to have health-promoting effects due to its high isoflavone and anthocyanin contents. We evaluated whether Seoritae extract (SE) had beneficial effects on the reduction of prostate weight in a rat model of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH was induced by intramuscular injections of testosterone enanthate once a week for 5 weeks in Sprague-Dawley rats, and rats were treated with or without daily oral doses of SE during BPH induction. After 5 weeks, the oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine), apoptosis (caspase-3), and activity of 5-alpha reductase were evaluated in the serum and prostate. The SE treatment group showed a significant decrease in prostate weight, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and 5-alpha reductase activity compared to the nontreated BPH group. These results show that SE is effective in decreasing the weight and proliferation of the prostate, and suggest that SE may be an effective treatment for BPH.

Highlights

The average life-span of human beings is gradually increasing due to development in science and medicine [1]
Compared with the Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) groups, administration of Seoritae extract (SE) led to significant reduction in prostate weight (P < 0.05) (Table 2)
According to the above reports and our result, we suggest that elevated caspase-3 in BPH might be a homeostatic reaction that balances the apoptosis-proliferation equilibrium, which occurs due to abnormal hyperproliferation of prostate cells induced by DNA damage from oxidative stress

Summary

Introduction

The average life-span of human beings is gradually increasing due to development in science and medicine [1]. We hypothesized that inhibition of 5alpha reductase would decrease the conversion of DHT from testosterone and antioxidant reactions that serve to reduce oxidative stress may prevent the occurrence and progression of BPH. The inside of Seoritae is of a bluish color It is a traditional Korean food and is known to have health-promoting effects due to its high isoflavone and anthocyanin contents. Isoflavones have variable effects on growth factor inhibition [6], antioxidant properties [7, 8], cell adhesion [9], 5-alpha reductase activity [10, 11], and angiogenesis [12]. We hypothesized that the 5-alpha reductase inhibitory effect as well as the antioxidant properties of the isoflavones and anthocyanin in SE would be helpful in preventing the occurrence and progression of BPH. Oxidative stress, apoptosis, and 5-alpha reductase activity were measured in order to investigate the mechanism by which SE regulates oxidative stress and prostate cell proliferation so as to determine its potential in treating BPH

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusions