Pharmacological investigation of an Ayurvedic formulation on testosterone propionate-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia rats

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potenital effect of an Ayurvedic herbo-mineral formulation in a rat model of testosterone propionate-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods: Male Wistar rats weighing 180-250 g were used. The selected animals were divided into six groups where each group consisted of six animals. Experimentally BPH was developed by subcutaneous administration of testosterone propionate (3 mg/kg) dissolved in corn oil for 28 days. The tested herbo-mineral formulation was administered orally for 28 consecutive days at 90 mg/kg, once or twice daily in different groups. On 29 th day, Blood samples were collected to evaluate different parameters like blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine, serum total protein, serum total cholesterol, serum albumin, serum globulin and serum A/G ratio. Prostate glands were dissected out for different prostatic parameters and histopathological examination. Results: The herbo-mineral formulation showed significant effect on urine output and different prostatic parameters. Significant changes in urine volume, prostate weight, prostate weight index, prostate length and prostate width were observed. In addition, positive effects on different biochemical parameters like BUN, serum creatinine, serum total protein, etc were recorded. The used formulation, at both dose levels, also showed significant reversal in histology of prostate glands when compared with disease control group. On the other hand, no side effects were observed according to the administered herbo-mineral formulation. Conclusion: The findings of this study concludes that Herbo-mineral formulation has promising effect on testosterone propionate-induced BPH in male wistar rats. © 2014 GESDAV