Can eating a fruit treat enlarged prostate?
Yes, one specific fruit can, according to a new study in the Asian Journal of Research in Biochemistry.
Not only did it treat enlarged prostate, it can actually shrink it to pretty much normal size.
Researchers wanted to see if the fruit extract of Annona muricata (commonly known as soursop) could help with enlarged prostate induced by testosterone propionate in male Wistar rats. They used 48 adult male rats, divided into six groups:
-
1. Normal Control: No testosterone propionate and no treatment.
2. Positive Control: Castrated and given testosterone propionate daily.
3. Finasteride Control: Castrated, given testosterone propionate daily, and treated with finasteride (a common enlarged prostate drug).
4. Low Dose Soursop: Castrated, given testosterone propionate daily, and treated with 100 mg/kg of soursop extract.
5. Medium Dose Soursop: Castrated, given testosterone propionate daily, and treated with 200 mg/kg of soursop extract.
6. High Dose Soursop: Castrated, given testosterone propionate daily, and treated with 400 mg/kg of soursop extract.
The rats were treated for 42 days, after which their blood and prostate tissues were examined.
This is what the researchers found:
-
1. The soursop extracts significantly reduced both prostate weight and testosterone levels compared to the positive control group. This reduction was dose-dependent, meaning the higher the dose, the greater the effect.
2. The highest dose of soursop extract (400 mg per one kilogram or 2.2 pounds of bodyweight) showed significant recovery, with the enlarged prostate returning pretty much to normal size and structure.
3. The study also included an acute toxicity test, confirming that even the highest dose of soursop extract was safe and well-tolerated by the rats.
The results suggest that soursop could be a promising natural treatment for enlarged prostate.
While these findings are promising, it’s important to remember that this study was conducted on rats. Human studies are needed to confirm these effects.
Most of the soursop supplements for sale come from the leaves, and it is not clear how similar these are to the fruit extracts tested in the study.
The better bet is to buy the whole fruit or fruit juice, but even then, you won’t be able to calculate exactly how much of it to consume, as we don’t know how concentrated the researchers’ extract was.
One or two tablespoons of fruit or juice per day should fall approximately in the ballpark, but start small and increase it as long as it doesn’t cause any adverse reaction.