The Effects of <i>Aronia melanocarpa</i> Extract on Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats, and Quantitative Analysis of Major Constituents Depending on Extract Conditions

• Main Authors: Na-Hyun Kim, Jonghwan Jegal, Yun Na Kim, Jeong-Doo Heo, Jung-Rae Rho, Min Hye Yang, Eun Ju Jeong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: <i>Aronia melanocarpa</i>; benign prostatic hyperplasia; 5-alpha-reductase; testosterone; androgen receptor; constituents
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1575

This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of <i>A. melanocarpa</i> on testosterone propionate (TP)-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Wistar rats. Moreover, the bioactive constituents in the extract were determined using LC/MS and HPLC analyses. The dried fruits of <i>A. melanocarpa </i>were extracted using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) under different extract conditions (temperature, 30 C or 100 C; extract solvent, 60% or 100% ethanol) to yield four extracts (T1~T4). Of the four <i>A. melanocarpa</i> extracts, T1 extracted under the condition of 100% ethanol/low temperature (30 C) exhibited the greatest inhibitory activity on TP-induced prostatic hyperplasia in rats. The administration of T1 (100 mg/kg body weight, p.o.) for six weeks attenuated TP-induced prostate enlargement and reduced the levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5α-reductase in both serum and prostate tissue. The suppression of PCNA mRNA expression in prostate tissue was remarkable in T1-treated rats. In LC/MS analysis, the levels of main anthocyanins and phenolics were significantly higher in T1 than in the other extracts. Furthermore, the quantitative study showed that the contents of cyanidin-3-glucose and cyanidin-3-xylose in T1 exhibited 1.27~1.67 and 1.10~1.26 folds higher compared to those in the other extracts. These findings demonstrated that <i>A. melanocarpa</i> extract containing anthocyanins as bioactive constituents attenuated the development of testosterone-induced prostatic hyperplasia, and suggested that this extract has therapeutic potential to treat prostate enlargement and BPH.