Exploring the effects and mechanism of peony pollen in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia

Paeonia suffruticosa is widely cultivated globally due to its medicinal and ornamental value. Peony pollen (PP) is commonly used in Chinese folk medicine to make tea to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), but its molecular mechanism against BPH is yet to be comprehended. The objective of this research was to experimentally verify the effect of PP in the treatment of BPH and to preliminarily reveal its mechanism of action on BPH using network pharmacology methods. The results revealed that PP could decrease prostate volume and prostate index, serum testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and estradiol (E2) levels. Moreover, it could improve prostate tissue structure in BPH model animals as well. Additionally, database searches and disease target matching revealed 81 compounds in PP. Of these, 3, 7, 8, 2'-tetrahydroxyflavone, Chrysin, Wogonin, Limocitrin, and Sexangularetin were the top five compounds associated with the therapeutic effects of BPH. Furthermore, 177 therapeutic targets for BPH were retrieved from databases of Swiss Target, DisGeNET, Drugbank, Genecards, OMIM, TTD, and Uniprot. In contrast, core targets AKT1, EGFR, IL6, TNF, and VEGFA were obtained by PPI network diagram. Molecular docking also showed that the main efficacy components and potential core targets in PP had good binding capacity. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomics (KEGG) analysis established that the effect of PP in BPH therapy was mainly through regulating the expression levels of protein kinase B on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B pathways. Additionally, Western blot experiments also exhibited a significant elevation in the activated PI3K and AKT proteins in the model (Mod) group relative to the control (Con) group, and the expression of these activated proteins was significantly reduced after PP administration. In summary, this research provides a scientific basis for employing PP to treat BPH, preliminarily reveals its mechanism of action and potential targets, and lays the foundation for further research and development.