Polyprenols and prostate dysfunction
Preclinical study
The results of the study confirm that polyprenols have a regenerating action, prevent disorders of prostate functions, normalize its activity, reduce the swelling of the gland and facilitate urination.
The study was conducted in rats in the laboratory conditions. A benign prostatic hyperplasia was modeled in animals, whereupon treatment with the concentrate of polyprenols was performed. The prostate function improved in 71.4% of the animals. A full restoration of the structure and functional activity of the prostate was observed in 28.6% of the rats.
Solagran Limited, Melbourne, Australia
Saint Petersburg State Chemical-and-Pharmaceutical Academy, Saint Petersburg, Russia
S.M. Kirov Academy of Forestry Engineering in Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia
I.M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Introduction
A benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a widely occurring disease of dishormonal nature, hardly curable and considerably reducing the quality of life of patients. It is most often that BPH occurs in men over 50 years old, but recently there has been a strong tendency towards increased incidence among younger persons. Both surgical methods and medication therapy are used to treat the disease. The advantages of natural preparations in comparison with synthetic ones include their relatively milder and versatile impact without pronounced side effects. The new plant medical polyprenolic preparation* is a concentrate of polyprenols (the total fraction is 95%). It is allowed for use as a hepatoprotector in cases of hepatitides, liver cirrhosis, fatty dystrophy of various etiologies, toxic liver injury of alcoholic, narcotic, medicinal genesis. The analysis of the composition of the polyprenolic preparation* suggests that it is possible to use it in cases of prostate dysfunction.
Study Purpose
Experimental study of the effect of the polyprenolic preparation* on the development of BPH.
Methods
The work was performed on 50 nonlinear white male rats. BPH was modeled by means of castration of rats with the subsequent subcutaneous introduction of testosterone in the dose of 0.1 mg/kg within 21 days. The polyprenolic preparation and the comparator of trianol were administered orally 3 days before the surgery and during 10 weeks after the surgery: the former – in the dose of 3.4 mg/kg (equivalent to a daily dose for a human of 40 mg), the latter – in the dose of 16 mg/kg (based on the daily dose for a human of 100 mg). Control animals received no treatment. The efficacy of effects of the preparations was assessed on the basis of the value of diuresis with a water load, analysis of urine during the experiment, on the basis of results of weighing and histological study of the prostate upon the completion of the experiment.
Results
The obtained results evidence that the therapeutic effect of polyprenols* on the model of BPH is comparable to the effect of trianol and exceeds it on the basis of some indicators (a reduction of the weight factor of the prostate, normalization of diuresis, a reduction of the share of animals with positive tests for protein and blood in the urine). An atrophy of the glandular component of the prostate was histologically found in animals with BPH, the secretory activity was only found in few glandules. After treatment with trianol, the signs of improvement of the prostate function were found in 50% of the animals, and after the introduction of polyprenols* - in 71.4% (of which the results of the treatment were better than in cases of application of trianol in 42.8% of the rats). Full restoration of the structure and functional activity of the prostate, that corresponded to the norm, was found in 28.6% of the animals receiving the polyprenolic preparation*.
Conclusion
Thus, it is established that polyprenols* have a pronounced prostatotropic effect: they clearly show a regenerating action, prevent the disorders of the ratio of the glandular epithelium and stroma, restore the normal secretory activity of the prostatic glandules, reduce the swelling of the prostate, and improve diuresis. (Published in the proceedings of the 2nd Conference of the Russian Association of Psychoneuroendocrinology (RAPNE), Moscow, 2010)
* A polyprenolic preparation of Ropren was used the study, which is a pure concentrate of polyprenols (the total fraction is 95%). The text of the study is provided by courtesy of Solagran.