Annona muricata (Soursop) Mitigated Testicular Toxicity and Prostatic Impairment in Testosterone-Propionate-Induced BPH in Male Rats

Abstract

Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is an age-associated prostate gland enlargement in men that can lead to urination difficulty. The exact etiology of BPH is unknown. Several unscientific reports with few documentations, supporting Annona muricata (soursop) fruit against benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This study aims to evaluate the mitigating mechanisms of A. muricata fruit phytochemicals on prostatic indices in BPH-induced male Wistar rats. The fruits of soursop were processed to obtain juice extract and lyophilized. A preliminary trial was conducted with six doses of the soursop fruit juice (10, 100, 1000, 1500, 2900 and 5000 mg/kg) to determine the LD₅₀. The experiment involved forty male rats divided into five groups of eight animals each; groups 3 – 5 had 3mg/kg body weight of testosterone propionate (TP) intravenous for two days. Groups 3 and 4 had 1600 and 2900 mg/kg body weight of soursop fruit juice, while the effects finasteride was tested against BPH in the 5^th group. The effects of the treatments were evaluated on body weight, prostatic weight, testicular weight, testosterone, DHT, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), testicular glycogen, testicular cholesterol, testicular zinc, 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase concentration and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase levels. The soursop fruit juice significantly (p ≤0.05) decreased prostate weight and modulated indices of testicular functions positively. This study suggests that soursop fruit ameliorated prostatic hyperplasia in rats and may be considered as an affordable and non-invasive management option for benign prostatic hyperplasia in men.