Volume 14, Issue 9, December 2015, Pages e1464–e1469
Inflammation
and Prostatic Diseases: From Bench to Bedside — From a Satellite
Symposium to the 30th European Association of Urology Annual Congress
- a Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Postgraduate School of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Milan, Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy
- Available online 28 December 2015
Abstract
Context
Herbal
medicines are complex mixtures of various compounds. Standardisation is
essential to ensure a consistent biological effect.
Objective
This article reviews findings related to herbal medicines with a specific focus on Serenoa repens, which is available in a number of different forms.
Evidence acquisition
This
article is based primarily on material presented at a satellite
symposium entitled, “Inflammation and Prostatic Diseases: From Bench to
Bedside,” held during the 2015 annual meeting of the European
Association of Urology in Madrid, Spain. Current data regarding the link
between inflammation and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were
reviewed.
Evidence synthesis
A
review of the available literature indicated that many natural products
are being used in therapeutic settings such as cardiology, neurology,
oncology, psychology, and urology. The need to standardise these
products to ensure a consistent clinical effect is a prerequisite for
good medical practice. In the case of Serenoa repens, which is
used in the symptomatic treatment of BPH, best evidence has been
published for the n-hexane lipidosterolic extract of the dwarf American
palm.
Conclusions
This literature review highlighted the variability in the composition of the various brands of Serenoa repens. Serenoa repens
hexanic extract is considered by the European Medicines Agency to be a
“well-established medical use product” for symptomatic treatment of BPH.
Patient summary
Standardisation of herbal medicines is essential to ensure a consistent level of clinical activity and safety. In the case of Serenoa repens,
the n-hexane lipidosterolic extract is the only formulation currently
considered by the European Medicines Agency to be a “well-established
medical use product.”
Keywords
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia;
- Herbal medicines;
- Serenoa repens;
- Standardisation
Copyright © 2015 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
