Embelin Ameliorate Testosterone-Induced Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats

Embelin, is a naturally occurring alkyl substituted hydroxyl benzoquinone and a major constituent from all the parts of Embelia ribes . It possesses antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic activities and also has the ability to decrease testosterone levels. The present study was designed to determine the effect of embelin on testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups and treated with either embelin (5 and 10 mg/kg), finasteride (1 mg/kg) or vehicle. After above mentioned treatment, testosterone (3 mg/kg; subcutaneously) was administration for 28 days, to induce BPH. On the day 29, blood samples were collected from the retro-orbital plexus. After blood sample collection, animals were sacrificed and prostates were immediately dissected out for weight measurement, biochemical estimations and histopathological studies. Prostatic serum acid phosphatase (PSAP) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were estimated. Administration of testosterone leads to significant increase in prosthetic weight, PSAP, PSA and lipid peroxidation levels and decrease in the antioxidant status. Moreover, histopathological abnormalities in the prostatic tissue were also found in these animals. Treatment with both the doses of embelin and finasteride significantly reversed the changes produced by testosterone. The authors conclude that antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of embelin are responsible for its protection against testosterone-induced BPH.