In vivo assessment of the anti-benign prostatic hyperplasia effect of hot ethanolic extract of flax seeds in male rats.

Background: The most widespread condition that affected on primarily the male population is Benign hyperplasia of the prostate benign prostatic hyper-plasia (BPH). Flax seeds have been reported to have antiproliferation properties and exhibit antitumor.

Aim: We assessed the impact of flax seeds ethanolic excerpt on BPH within a testosterone propionate (TP)-induced model of rats.

Methods: A pre-3-week daily injection of TP (3 mg/kg BW) was used to induce BPH. Twenty male rats (200-240 gm) were randomly divided into 4 equal groups (n = 5) negative Group under control was given PBS orally, corn oil S/C, BPH-induced rats received 3 mg/kg BW TP for 3 weeks, extract group received 50 mg/Kg extract twice daily for 2 weeks Finasteride group received standard drug 10 mg/Kg BW for 2 weeks. When the course of treatment is over, rats were sacrificed and the blood was collected and separated, the prostate of the rats was harvested for histological examination.

Results: The results showed that flax seeds ethanolic extract could significantly (p < 0.05) reduce the prostate gland weight, prostate index, serum level of PAS, testosterone, and 5-a reductase enzyme in BPH-induced rats and improve the tissue morphology of the prostate.

Conclusion: Based on our results, the extract suggested that have a promising role in the treatment of benign hyperplasia of the prostate.