ABSTRACT
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an imbalance between androgen/estrogen, overexpression of stromal, and epithelial growth factors associated with chronic inflammation, has become an atypical direct cause of mortality of aged male diseases. Ginkgo possesses anti-inflammatory, blood flow-enhancing, and free radical scavenging effects. Considering strenuous exercise can reduce BPH risks, we hypothesize Ginkgo + exercise (Ginkgo + Ex) could be beneficial to BPH. To verify this, rat BPH model was induced by s.c. 3.5 mg testosterone (T) and 0.1 mg estradiol (E2) per head per day successively for 8 weeks, using mineral oil as placebo. Cerenin(®) 8.33 µ L/100 g was applied s.c. from the 10th to the 13th week, and simultaneously, Ex was applied (30 m/min, 3 times/week). In BPH, Ginkgo alone had no effect on T, 5 α -reductase, and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), but suppressed androgen receptor (AR), aromatase, E2 and estrogen receptor (ER), and the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA); Ex alone significantly reduced T, aromatase, E2, ER, AR, and PCNA, but highly raised DHT. While Ginkgo + Ex androgenically downregulated T, aromatase, E2, and ER, but upregulated DHT, AR, and PCNA, implying Ginkgo + Ex tended to worsen BPH. Conclusively, Ginkgo or Ex alone may be more beneficial than Ginkgo + Ex for treatment of BPH.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUNDS & AIMS: The long term therapeutic effect of ferulic acid (FA) and gallic acid (GA) in treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been lacking. METHODS: Doxorubicin (DR, Adriamycin)-induced CKD rat model was established for this study. RESULTS: DR significantly reduced levels of serum albumin, GOT, GPT, RBC, TNF-α, and urinary creatinine and elevated serum cholesterol, TG, BUN, creatinine, uric acid, WBC, platelet count, and IL-6. In DRCKD rats, FA and GA significantly increased kidney weight and glomerular volume. FA reduced glomerular filtration rate but GA did not. FA enhanced more collagen deposition than GA in renal cortex and glomeruli. Both FA and GA showed crucial hyperlipidemic activity. The inhibitory effects of FA and GA on MMP-2 were very comparable. GA suppressed MMP-2 more effectively than FA in DRCKD rats. Both FA and GA induced SOD elevation and MDA elimination. In DRCKD rats, Western blot analysis indicated that FA further up-regulated CD34, α-SMA, tissue pDGFR, p-PDGFR, and TGF-ß; and down-regulated p-PI3K, and p-Akt. Since both PDGF-BB and TGF-ß are considered to induce kidney prefibrosis stage, GA was proved to be more beneficial in this regard. CONCLUSIONS: GA tends to protect the CKD while FA is not recommended for the long term CKD therapy.
