Effect Of The Plant Extracts Pygeum Africanum And Urtica Dioica On Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Due To Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia In Nigerian Men

摘要

IntroductionBenign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common conditions urologists attend to and its treatment constitutes a great economic burden. Though alpha blockers have been the mainstay of medical treatment, there are documented preferences for use of plant based therapies over chemically derived compounds. The aim is to evaluate the effect of a combined extract of Urtica dioica and Pygeum africanum on Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) in Nigerian men.Materials and MethodsWe reviewed the clinical records of patients with LUTS from BPH who had used the combined extract of Urtica dioica and Pygeum africanum. We assessed the International Prostate Symptom Severity Scores (IPSS) and the postvoidal residual urine volume (PVR) before and after an eight-week of use of the extract.ResultsThere was an improvement in the IPSS in 69.1% from a mean of 6 to a mean of 3.5. There was also an improvement in PVR in 43.8% of the patient from a mean of 102mls to 40mls. There was no recorded sexually related side-effect. ConclusionThe plant extracts containing Urtica dioica and Pygeum africanum may play a role in ameliorating LUTS in some selected patients with BPH.