title: Relevance of anti-reactive oxygen species activity to anti-inflammatory activity of components of eviprostat, a phytotherapeutic agent for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
abstract: Inflammation is a common finding in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The phytotherapeutic agent eviprostat is a popular treatment for BPH in Japan and Germany. This agent consists of five components; four are extracted from Chimaphila umbellata, Populus tremula, Pulsatilla pratensis and Equisetum arvense (coded as EVI-1, EVI-2, EVI-3 and EVI-4, respectively) and the fifth is germ oil from Triticum aestivum (coded as EVI-5). In this study, the effects of each component on the reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide anion (O2-) and hydroxyl radical (OH*) generated in cell-free systems and human neutrophils, and on carrageenin-induced paw edema in rats were investigated. EVI-1, EVI-2 and EVI-4 suppressed the O2- levels in the xanthine/xanthine oxidase system, and EVI-1, EVI-2, EVI-3 and EVI-4 abolished the OH* produced in a Fenton-type reaction system, so that EVI-1, EVI-2 and EVI-4 possessed inhibitory action with respect to both O2- and OH*. EVI-1, EVI-2 and EVI-4 also reduced ROS levels in phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated neutrophils. The paw swelling was inhibited by a mixture of EVI-1, EVI-2, EVI-3, EVI-4 and EVI-5 (a mixture which is equivalent to eviprostat) or by a mixture of EVI-1, EVI-2 and EVI-4, even though each component alone did not significantly inhibit the swelling. These findings suggest that the suppression of ROS by EVI-1, EVI-2 and EVI-4 may partly contribute to the anti-inflammatory action of eviprostat, and this action may be implicated in its therapeutic effect on BPH.
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratories, Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd., 14 Nishinosho-monguchi-cho, Kisshoin, Minami-ku, Kyoto 601-8550, Japan. m.oka@po.nippon-shinyaku.co.jp
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Mitsushi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuwabara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002351:Carrageenan; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004487:Edema / Q000188:drug therapy; D020829:Equisetum; D004979:Ethamsylate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology; D032107:Populus; D031946:Pulsatilla; D051381:Rats; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000975:Antioxidants; D004338:Drug Combinations; D010936:Plant Extracts; D010938:Plant Oils; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C050055:wheat germ oil; D004979:Ethamsylate; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; C010152:eviprostat; D002351:Carrageenan; D010100:Oxygen