Abstract:
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common benign proliferative disease among men during aging, Prucan capsule contains an extract of P. Africana, and the extract has been used for the treatment of BPH since time immemorial. Therefore this study was designed to investigate the histological changes in rat prostates treated with P .Africana extract. Rats were divided into six groups, each group containing 7 rats, Negative Control group (rats were subcutaneously injected with vehicle agent olive oil and oral normal saline for four weeks), BPH group {BPH was induced by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate (TP) daily for four weeks},Treatment group (rats were injected with TP for four weeks followed by daily administration of crude P.Africana extract for four weeks), preventive group (where rats were given crude of P. Africana extract simultaneously with TP injection for four weeks), positive control group (rats were injected with TP for four weeks followed by daily administration of finasteride for four weeks) and Prucan group (where rats were administered with only crude P. Africana extract for four weeks. Ventral prostates were extracted, cleaned, and measured then processed for histological and histomorphometric examination. Prostate weight was significantly increased in the BPH group and significantly decreased in Prucan, preventive, positive, and treatment groups. Histologically and morphometrically, the BPH group showed epithelial hyperplasia, stromal expansion, and reduced acinar lumens these features were significantly improved in the preventive,Treatment, and positive control group, while the Prucan group showed a significant decrease of the epithelial area, acinar luminal area, and stroma area . Generally, this study has demonstrated that there is a restoration of histopathological findings in BPH induced rats following treatment with crude of P. Africana extract and that P. Africana extract seems to have a potentially ant-BPH and protective histological effect to rat prostate.
