Abstract

Objective : Although chronic non-bacterial prostatitis is a common disease, it is very difficult to treat effectively. Lygodium japonicum has been traditionally used in treatment of urinary tract inflammation and voiding disturbance. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects and action mechanism of Lygodium japonicum in the rat model of non-bacteral prostatitis induced by castration and testosterone treatment. Methods : Five-month-old rats were treated with 17β-estradiol after castration for induction of experimental non-bacteral prostatitis, which is similar to human chronic prostatitis in histophatological profiles. Lygodium japonicum and testosterone were administered as an experimental specimen and a positive control, respectively. The prostates were evaluated by histopahological parameters including the epithelial score and epithelio-stromal ratio for glandular damage, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labeling index for cyto-proliferation and a TUNEL (deoxyuridine triphosphate biotin nick end-labeling) assay for cell apoptosis. Results : While prostates of control rats revealed severe acinar gland atrophy and stromal proliferation, the rats treated with Lygodium japonicum showed a diminished range of the tissue damage. Epithelial score was improved in Lygodium japonicum than that of the control (P<0.05). The epithelio-stromal ratio was lower in Lygodium japonicum when compared to that of the control (P<0.05). Although there was no difference in PCNA and TUNEL positive cells of the glandular epithelia, we found an decreased number of PCNA positive cell and concurrent increase of TUNEL positive cells in the stroma of Lygodium japonicum treated rats (P<0.01). Conclusions : These findings suggest that Lygodium japonicum may protect the glandular epithelial cells and also inhibit stromal proliferation in association with suppression of cyto-proliferation and stimulation of apoptosis. We concluded that Lygodium japonicum may could be a useful remedy agents for treating the chronic non-bacterial prostatitis.