title: Effect of Boerhaavia diffusa in experimental prostatic hyperplasia in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Present investigation was undertaken to study the effectiveness of hydroalcoholic extract of roots of Boerhaavia diffusa in experimental benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats using various animal models.
  
  
  METHODS
  BPH in rats was induced by subcutaneous injection of testosterone (5 mg/kg) daily for 28 days. Rats were divided in to five groups (six rats each). A negative control group received arachis oil (1 ml/kg s.c.) and four groups were injected testosterone. These four groups were further divided into reference group (finasteride 1 mg/kg), model group (testosterone), study group A (B. diffusa 100 mg/kg), and study group B (B. diffusa 250 mg/kg). On the 29(th) day, rats were sacrificed and body weight, prostate weight, bladder weight, and serum testosterone level were measured and histological studies were carried out. Further in vitro analysis of B. diffusa extract on contractility of isolated rat vas deferens and prostate gland, produced by exogenously administered agonists were carried out. All results were expressed as mean ± SEM. 0 Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  B. diffusa (100 mg/kg) treatment for 28 days resulted in significant inhibition of prostate growth (P < 0.05). Drug extract did not have significant change on serum testosterone level. Histopathological analysis of prostate gland supported above results. Results of in vitro experiment suggest that extracts had attenuated the contractile responses of isolated vas deferens and prostate gland to exogenously applied agonists.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggested that treatment with B. diffusa may improve symptoms of disease and inhibit the increased prostate size. In vitro study implies that herbal extracts has the machinery to produce beneficial effect on prostatic smooth muscle, which would relieve the urinary symptoms of disease. B. diffusa could be a potential source of new treatment of prostatic hyperplasia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Maliba Pharmacy College, Bardoli, Mahuva Road, Surat, Gujarat, India.
authors.forename: Bhavin A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Vyas
authors.forename: Niket Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.forename: Paras K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Shrikant V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: Dinesh R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D039281:Nyctaginaceae; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018517:Plant Roots; D011467:Prostate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013739:Testosterone; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects; D014649:Vas Deferens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D013739:Testosterone
keywords: Benign prostatic hyperplasia; Boerhaavia diffusa; dihydrotestosterone; isolated vas deferens; prostate gland; testosterone