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. 2023 Jun 8;23(1):187.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-023-04018-4.

Safety profile of colocasia esculenta tuber extracts in benign prostate hyperplasia

Deusdedit Tusubira  1 , Patrick M Aja  2   3   4 , Jonasi Munezero  2 , Frank Ssedyabane  5 , Nathim Namale  2 , Josiah E Ifie  4 , Peter C Agu  3 , Clement O Ajayi  6 , Joash Okoboi  7
Affiliations

Safety profile of colocasia esculenta tuber extracts in benign prostate hyperplasia

Deusdedit Tusubira et al. BMC Complement Med Ther. .

Abstract

Introduction: This study was motivated by the increasing global incidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and the promising potential of nutraceuticals as complementary therapies in ameliorating its burden. We report the safety profile of C. esculenta tuber extracts, a novel nutraceutical in benign prostate hyperplasia in a rat model.

Methods: In this study, forty-five male albino rats were randomly assigned to 9 groups of 5 rats each. Group 1 (normal control) received olive oil and normal saline. Group 2 (BPH untreated group) received 3 mg/kg of testosterone propionate (TP) and normal saline, and group 3 (positive control) received 3 mg/kg of TP and 5 mg/kg of finasteride. Treatment groups 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 received 3 mg/kg of TP and a middle dose (200 mg/kg) of LD50 of ethanol crude tuber extract of C. esculenta (ECTECE) or hexane, dichloromethane, butanone, ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions of ECTECE respectively for a period of 28 days.

Results: The negative controls showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in mean relative prostate weight (approximately 5 times) as well as a reduction in relative testes weight (approximately 1.4 times less). There was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in the mean relative weights of most vital organs: liver, kidneys, and heart. This was also observed in hematological parameters: RBC, hemoglobin, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC, and platelets counts. In general, we note that the effects of the well-established drug finasteride on the biochemical parameters and histology of selected organs are comparable to those of C. esculenta fractions.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that C. esculenta tuber extracts provide potentially safe nutraceutical if applied in the management of benign prostate hyperplasia based on a rat model.

Keywords: Benign prostate cancer; Coco yam; Neutraceutical.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effect of ethanol crude Tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta and Fractions on Serum Total Protein concentration in Testosterone propionate induced benign prostate hyperplasic Rats. Data are shown as mean ± S.D (n = 5). Mean values of different groups were compared with the control using Dunnet ANOVA with significantly difference at P < 0.05 (indicated by *). Testosterone propionate (TP), Ethanol crude Tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta (ECTECE), Hexane fraction(HF), Dichloromethane fraction( DCMF), Butanone fraction(BF), Ethyl acetate fraction(EAF) and Aqueous Fraction (AF)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effect of ethanol crude Tuber extract of C. esculenta and Fractions on Relative Prostrate Weight in Testosterone propionate induced benign prostate hyperplasic Rats. Relative prostate weight was calculated by dividing the weight of the prostate of the animal divided by the body weight of the animal. Mean values of different groups were compared with the control using Dunnet ANOVA with significantly difference at P < 0.0002 (****) and P < 0.002 (***). Testosterone propionate (TP), ethanol crude Tuber extract of C. esculenta (ECTECE), hexane fraction (HF), dichloromethane fraction (DCMF), butanone fraction (BF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and aqueous fraction (AF)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(a-d): Effect of ethanol crude Tuber extract and Fractions of C. esculenta on Relative Organs weights in Testosterone propionate induced benign prostate hyperplasic Rats. Data are shown as mean ± S.D (n = 5). Mean values of different groups were compared with the control using Dunnet ANOVA with significantly difference at P < 0.05 although none of them was significant. Testosterone propionate (TP), Ethanol crude Tuber extract of C. esculenta (ECTECE), Hexane fraction (HF), Dichloromethane fraction (DCMF), Butanone fraction (BF), Ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and Aqueous Fraction (AF).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(a-g): Effect of ethanol crude Tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta and Fractions on Haematological indices in Testosterone propionate induced benign prostate hyperplasic Rats. Mean values of different groups were compared with the control using Dunnet ANOVA with significantly difference at P < 0.003 (***) and P < 0.001 ( ****). Testosterone propionate (TP), Ethanol crude Tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta (ECTECE), Hexane fraction(HF), Dichloromethane fraction( DCMF), Butanone fraction(BF), Ethyl acetate fraction(EAF) and Aqueous Fraction (AF)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
(a-f): Effect of ethanol crude Tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta and Fractions on WBC level and differential counts in Testosterone propionate induced benign prostate hyperplasic Rats. Data are shown as mean ? S.D (n=5). Mean values of different groups were compared with the control using Dunnet ANOVA with significantly difference at P<0.05. Testosterone propionate (TP), Ethanol crude Tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta (ECTECE), Hexane fraction(HF), Dichloromethane fraction( DCMF), Butanone fraction(BF), Ethyl acetate fraction(EAF) and Aqueous Fraction (AF), BPH( Benign prostate hyperplasia)
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Haematoxylin and Eosin stain on histological sections of prostate gland representative image from three rats selected from each of the group. (I) (NC) Normal control group (magnification, x200); (II) (TP + Finasteride) Positive control group (magnification, x200); (III) TP + ECTECE (magnification, x200); iv. (BPH) Negative control group (magnification, x200). Blue arrows show the prostate glands with no proliferating prostate cells while the red arrows show proliferating prostate cell, BPH- Benign prostatic hyperplasia, ethanol crude tuber extract of C. esculenta
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
(I-III). Haematoxylin and Eosin stain on histological sections of the liver. (I) Normal control group (NC) (magnification, x200); (II) BPH untreated group (magnification, x200); and (III) TP + ECTECE group (magnification, x200). BPH- Benign prostatic hyperplasia, ethanol crude tuber extract of C. esculenta
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
(I-IV) showed no demonstrable hyperplasia, atrophy or hypertrophy of heart tissue in the normal control group (NC), neither was it demonstrated in the BPH untreated group nor TP + Finasteride groups. The same was observed in TP + ECTECE group
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
(I-IV). Haematoxylin and Eosin stain on histological sections of kidney tissue. (I) Normal control (NC) group (magnification, x200); (II) BPH control group (magnification, x200); (III) TP + Finasteride (magnification, x200) and (IV) TP + ECTECE (magnification, x200). BPH- Benign prostatic hyperplasia, ethanol crude tuber extract of C. esculenta
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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