Ameliorative effect of Nakai on benign prostatic hyperplasia and .

Background/objectives: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common prostate disease and one of the most common chronic diseases caused by aging in men. On the other hand, there has been no research on BPH using Nakai (). Therefore, this study investigated the effects of on BPH.

Materials/methods: leaves were extracted with distilled water, 70% ethanol, and 95% hexane as solvents. Subsequently, the inhibitory effects of each extract on androgen receptor (AR) signaling were evaluated . The testosterone-induced BPH model was then used to confirm the efficacy of leaves in 70% ethanol extract (ADLE).

Results: ADLE had the strongest inhibitory effect on AR signaling. A comparison of the activity of ADLE by harvest time showed that the leaves of harvested in autumn had a superior inhibitory effect on AR signaling to those harvested at other times. In the BPH rat model, the administration of ADLE reduced the prostate size and prostate epithelial cell thickness significantly and inhibited AR signaling. Subsequently, the administration of ADLE also reduced the expression of growth factors, thereby inactivating the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Conclusions: An analysis of the efficacy of ADLE to relieve BPH showed that the ethanol extract grown in autumn exhibited the highest inhibitory ability of the androgen-signaling related factors . ADLE also inhibited the expression of growth factors by inhibiting the expression of the androgen-signaling related factors . Overall, ADLE is proposed as a functional food that is effective in preventing BPH.