Rice bran oil ameliorates the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia in male Wistar rats

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the proliferation of prostatic cells and the growth of the prostate gland in elderly men. Oils that are rich in free fatty acids have been reported to be potentially effective in treating BPH. In the present study, we investigated the effect of rice bran oil (RO) on the treatment of testosterone enanthate (TE)-induced experimental BPH in male Wistar rats.

An animal model of BPH was established by subcutaneous administration of TE to Wistar rats for 28 days. RO was administered by oral gavage daily before TE/corn oil injection at a dose of 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight. All the rats were sacrificed at the end of the experiment and we measured prostate index (PI), histological changes, and activities of antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, we assessed the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the serum.

Our findings indicate that RO significantly inhibited the development of BPH in experimental rats, reduced PI (p<0.0001), decreased PSA in serum (p<0.01), increased antioxidant enzyme activities (Glutatione (GSH), super oxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT); p<0.0001), and decreased concentration of oxidative stress biomarkers advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), and nitric oxide (NO) (p<0.0001) compared to positive controls. Hematoxylin & Eosin staining demonstrated that RO decreased pathological changes in the prostate of experimental animals. The treatment effect of RO was better exhibited in rats receiving RO at high dose.

These results suggest that RO may be used as a therapeutic agent for BPH as oral administration of RO significantly halted the disease progression via anti-proliferative, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity.