Asian Journal of Research in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

In this study, the evaluation of inhibitory and protective potentials of Taraxacum officinale (TO) on testosterone propionate-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in wistar male rats were investigated. Thirty male rats of the wistar strain, weighing between 130 and 180 g were used. The rats were acclimatized to their food and water for 2 weeks which they had access to ad libitum. Following acclimatization, they were distributed randomly into five groups of five rats each and were treated for 28 days. At the end of the experimental period, standard procedures were applied in investigating the various parameters. The result of the phytochemical composition of T. officinale revealed various phytochemicals with Phenol (33.02 ±0.39), Flavonoid (28.13 ±0.39) and Alkaloid (30.19 ±0.64) being the highest. The antioxidant activity of T. officinale demonstrated its ability to scavenge DPPH radicals, inhibit nitric oxide radicals, and reduce ferric ions to ferrous ions. The normal rats given TO showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) in serum PSA levels compared to the normal control, whereas the disease control exhibited a significant increase (P < 0.05) in PSA levels compared to the normal control. The administration of finasteride or TO (at both doses) notably reduced (P < 0.05) the PSA levels in the BPH rats when compared to the disease control group. The administration of finasteride or TO (at both dosages) markedly reduced (P < 0.05) the PSA levels in BPH rats when compared to the disease control group. The administration of TO resulted in a significant reduction in circulating testosterone levels and the gonadotropins LH. Results indicated that the Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) (miu/ml) levels in disease control rats decreased significantly (p > 0.05) compared to the normal control and rats that received only TO. However, a significant increase (p < 0.05) in FSH level was observed in Groups administered finasteride or TO (at both doses). Testosterone propionate treatments elicited significant (p < 0.05) decrease in WBC, LYM, Neut, P-LCR, RBC and HGB levels respectively compared to the Control group. However, TO co-treated group exhibited marked significant increase in the hematological indices compared to the disease control group. There were significant elevation (P < 0.05) of the prostatic lipid peroxidation but significant reduction (P < 0.05) of the prostatic GSH, SOD, GPx and catalase activities of the disease control compared with the normal control. The total proteins, albumin and globulin in the sera of the normal rats administered TO were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from the normal control. The serum AST, ALT, ALP and Bilirubin levels of the normal rats administered TO were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from that of the normal control. The disease control had significantly elevated (P < 0.05) (AST, ALT, ALP and Bilirubin) in comparison with the normal control while administration of finasteride or TO (at both doses) significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the (AST, ALT, ALP and Bilirubin) of the BPH rats compared to disease control. The serum urea and creatinine levels of the normal rats administered TO were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from that of the normal control. The serum Na⁺, K⁺, Cl^-, and HC0₃^- levels of the disease control or the normal rats administered TO were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from that of the normal control. Similarly, the Na⁺, K⁺, Cl^-, and HC0₃ levels of the BPH rats administered finasteride or TO (at both doses) were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from that of the disease control. BPH induction significantly (p < 0.05) elevated the levels of IL-6, IL- b, and TNF-α respectively compared with the normal control. TO co-treatment showed markedly reduced levels of IL-6, IL-b, and TNF-α in the serum of rats. The disease control exhibited a notable increase (P < 0.05) in sera Total cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C, and TAG, while there was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in sera HDL-C when compared to the normal control. Histology sections of the Prostate from animals exposed solely to TP disease revealed significant, multifocal regions of epithelial hyperplasia and notable enhancement of the Inter-acinar connective tissue (CT) in comparison to sections of the Prostate from animals treated with Taraxacum officinale, which exhibited mild, multifocal areas of epithelial hyperplasia (arrow). Thus, we suggest that Taraxacum officinale may exhibit antiproliferative and antioxidant effects due to its diverse pharmacological activities relating to the formation and advancement of lesions in a TP-induced BPH model.