Phytomedicines for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia without surgery in Nigeria

The enlargement of the prostate gland in sexually active elderly males has been a major ailment with very serious concern to medical institutions around the world, especially because of the associated complications of acute urine retention, which causes severe pain, discomfort, anxiety, and loss of consciousness, which warrant urgent and emergency medical attention. The enlargement can be a simple type described as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BOH) when the ultra sound features show smooth echogenicity. Another type of enlargement can show rough surface with heterogeneous echogenicity in which case it can be said to be cancerous or malignant. Both cases of enlargement usually present similar symptoms of frequency in urination, hesitancy, urgency, trickling flow of urine and, in advanced stages, there is acute urine retention due to blockage when the patient cannot pass urine. The usual medical practice is to pass a catheter through the urethra into the bladder to void urine as a palliative measure before surgical operations are performed to either partially remove the prostate gland or in some cases a complete or total prostatectomy. Modern methods have been evolved to control the enlargement of the prostate through radiation, such as the latest technology of transurethral microwave thermo therapy. Most available synthetic drugs have not proved effective in curing the ailment. Fifty-two (52) cases of clinically confirmed prostate enlargement were treated at the Narl specialist clinic between 1997 and 2000 with phytomedicines developed from Cocos nucifera. Thirty-two BPH cases with raised Prostate Specific Antigen (P.S.A.) levels of 7-23 ng/l (normal 0 - 4 ng/l), were successfully reinstated without surgery within 6-12 weeks of treatment. Only 4 of the malignant cases were successfully treated after 48 weeks of continuous treatment with the addition of 2 fruits of Lycopersicum esculentum in their daily diets. The remaining 16 cases of malignant enlargements had to undergo surgical operations. The findings conclude that the phytomedicines were effective in reducing the elevated P.S.A. within the first 4 weeks of treatment and very efficient and safe for the treatment of BPH.