Traditional Korean herb combination can counter prostate inflammation

06-Aug-2017 - Last updated on 08-Aug-2017 at 16:12 GMT

Scientists found the anti-inflammatory properties of a traditional K orean medicine can help treat prostatitis. ©iStock

Ojayeonjonghwan (OJ), a traditional Korean combination of herbs and botanicals, has a positive effect on prostatitis due to its anti-inflammatory properties, according to a recent South Korean study.

The study, jointly conducted by Kyung Hee University, Hoseo University and Chonbuk National University, entailed tests on male mice to ascertain the effects of OJ on prostatitis, an “asymptomatic inflammation of the prostate” caused by prostate infection.

It was discovered that OJ, inhibits nitric oxide (NO), a key inflammatory mediator in prostatitis patients that is stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It is generated by LPS-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS, and OJ was found to hamper iNOS induction.

Additionally, the pro-inflammatory cytokine induction observed in the mice’s peritoneal macrophages was obstructed by treatment with OJ, which is typically administered in liquid dosage form.

Excessive levels

The medicine also suppressed “the LPS-induced secretions” of tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α), the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the cytokine protein interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), all of which have been detected in excessive levels in either the secreted prostatic fluid or seminal plasma of prostatitis patients.

OJ consists of five types of herbs, some of whose qualities have been credited with its aforementioned effects on inflammation: Schisandra chinensis Baillon, Lycium barbarum Linnaeus, Cuscuta chinensis Lamark, Rubus coreanum Miquel, and Plantago asiatica Linne.

Schisandra chinensis has “anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, anti-hepatotoxic, anti-HIV, and anti-inflammatory properties”.

GA, an active component of OJ, was found to have “strongly inhibited inflammatory reactions in LPS-induced macrophages”. At the same time, schizandrin, another active component of OJ, inhibits NO production and iNOS induction.

Apart from Schisandra chinensis,extracts from one of OJ’s other herbs, Lycium barbarous, have been shown to “exhibit anti-inflammatory activities against…liver injury”.

Source: Pharmaceutical Biology

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13880209.2017.1339282

“Anti-inflammatory effects of a traditional Korean medicine: Ojayeonjonghwan”

Authors: Sun-Young Nam, et al.