Role of Persea Americana and Vitamin E in Reducing the Tendency for Prostate Cancer Growth

Abstract

Persea Americana Avocado is traditionally used for the treatment of various health problems.With its wide claim of medicinal benefits, it is imperative to determine the effectsof the extract on some biochemical parameters of the male wistar rats and its tendency to reduce prostate cancer growth. It’s also to determine the extract effect on the histology of the reproductive organs (testes) of the rats. Twenty-four (24) male wistar rats of an average weight of 170g were used for the experiment. The rats were divided into four groups (n=6): Group 1 (control), group II (150mg/kg of avocado extract), group III (300mg/kg of avocado extract, and group IV (200mg/kg of Vitamin E). The administration was for 56 days, and on the 57th day all the animals were sacrificed and their testes harvested. The histology and enzyme histochemistry of the testes conducted. There was a significant decrease in vitamin Glucose-6-phospodehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in rats of groups II and III compared to the control group. Prostatic acid phosphotase (P-AcP) also significantly decreased in groups II and III when compared with the group IV. Avocado and Vitamin E increased body weight and reduce oxidative stress. It also decreased LDH and P-AcP levels in the body, and consequently reducing tendency for cancerous cells growth, and particularly prostate cancer. However, unlike Vitamin E which improved on spermatogenesis, Avocado exert negatively on testicular architecture, germ cells and spermatogenesis.