Pygeum africanum and Prostate Cancer
ABSTRACT: Antiproliferative effect of
Pygeum africanum extract on rat prostatic fibroblasts.
The effect of a
Pygeum africanum extract (Tadenan)(Pa), used in the
treatment of micturition disorders associated with BPH, has been examined on the
proliferation of rat prostatic stromal cells stimulated by different growth factors. EGF,
bFGF, and IGF-I but not KGF are mitogenic for prostatic fibroblasts in culture.
Pygeum africanum inhibits both basal and stimulated growth
with IC50 values of 4.5, 7.7 and 12.6 micrograms/ml for EGF, IGF-I and bFGF, respectively,
compared to 14.4 micrograms/ml for untreated cells, the inhibition being stronger towards
EGF.
Pygeum inhibited the proliferation induced by TPA or PDBu
in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50 values of 12.4 and 8.1 micrograms/ml
respectively. The antiproliferation effects of
Pygeum africanum were not ascribed to cytotoxicity.
These
results show that
Pygeum africanum is a potent inhibitor of rat prostatic
fibroblast proliferation in response to direct activators of protein kinase C, the defined
growth factors bFGF, EGF and IGF-I, and the complex mixture of mitogens in serum depending
on the concentration used. PKC activation appears to be an important growth
factor-mediated signal transduction for this agent.
This data suggest that therapeutic
effect of
Pygeum africanum may be due at least in part to the
inhibition of growth factors responsible for the prostatic overgrowth in man.
PMID: 9146675, UI: 97292135
Yablonsky F, Nicolas V, Riffaud JP, Bellamy F Laboratories Debat, groupe
Fournier, Garches, France.J Urol 1997 Jun;157(6):2381-2387